The Illidari
by Statyck
Summary: Illidan greatly respects his lieutenant. That does not exempt her from the political workings of his cult. NSFW
1. Chapter 1

**Welp. I'm completely obsessed with the demon hunters. And those intro cut scenes are fucking AMAZING. As someone who is fairly new to Warcraft (like 3 months playing) Illidan seems like a really interesting character. Even more so after I did some reading on his backstory. But then I've always liked the emotionally unstable assholes who murder even bigger assholes.**

 **-Static**

 **/*\**

This was a rare event. A pair of men stood opposite each other in the middle of the temporary ring. One was very noticeably larger than the other, but the smaller one didn't seem fazed in the least. He readied his glaives and the night elf opposite him did nothing. The blinded man waited, listening for the sound of his opponent's weapon, and the battle was over just like that.

"Throwing it is generally a good idea against a simple creature." The elder stated, holding the glaive against the other's throat. "Such as an imp or a lion. However against a more sentient enemy you may as well just hand it over."

"I'll keep that in mind, Lord Illidan. Thank you for your help." And the new recruit was left to train with his new weapons on his own.

Lilythae had very conflicted feelings about her master.

In many ways Lord Illidan was a respectable leader, if such a thing ever existed. She admired him greatly. Instead of barking orders from his lavish palace he fought alongside his followers. He took an active role in the workings of his Illidari. He presided over ceremonies welcoming the few who survived the transformations. He made time to assist in training when he could, though their numbers had grown to the point that it was unusual for anyone to get any kind of training with him anymore. He spoke with scouts himself, drafted battle plans himself, and he was happy to take opinions from his lieutenants. Even if his possessions were a little finer than those of his followers, he didn't lord it over them. He demanded nothing from them other than their trust and their respect.

As well as their devotion and their obedience.

The one and only thing that Lilythae did not like about Illidan was that the demon hunters treated him almost like a deity, as though he were a force to be worshipped akin to the Light or Elune herself. And he reveled in it. Always they said to trust in Lord Illidan's plan, but as one of his lieutenants Lilythae knew how dangerous that could be. Though he was powerful and exceptionally knowledgeable Illidan was just a man, and his followers were incredibly young.

Illidan had been alive for thousands of years where many of the elves here – night and blood alike – were barely more than children. They had experienced the pain of becoming orphaned, of losing brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, and the new recruits were maybe twenty years old on average.

Lilythae herself had experienced her own painful loss. A loss that had filled her heart with grief and a rage potent enough to burn down the remnants of the destroyed city to rubble.

And it was that very grief and anger that Illidan preyed on.

"You appear distracted." A voice rang out, deep, rich, and just vaguely threatening. "Is something on your mind?"

"Not at all, my lord." Lilythae answered, her own voice soft and tranquil. She was sitting down with a cup of warm chocolate, sipping every so often as she enjoyed her brief break. She rather liked to watch the training matches, even when she'd spent all day teaching basic techniques to newbies. Illidan arched a single black eyebrow.

"You aren't very convincing." He pried. "Speak your mind and be done with it."

"I'm just thinking about Mardum. I know it's still a week away, but I am making peace with the possibility of my death." She smoothly lied. She admired Illidan, yes, but she knew better.

"Oh?"

"If I succeed, then I am one step closer to vengeance. If I die…"

"If you die…?"

"Then I get to see my loved ones again. I'd like to think that either way, things will end well for me but…." She shrugged. For a moment Illidan was silent, then he beckoned to her with a single clawed hand. The message was clear. _Follow me._

He led her through the halls and out the entryway and started heading away from the temple. Further and further out, almost as if he were luring her away from the other demon hunters.

Almost an hour had passed before the pair encountered a small troupe of demons. It wasn't until he left her to deal with them that she entertained the anxiety that began to cloud her mind. Illidan hadn't spoken a word, and he knew what she could do. He knew she'd make short work of the scouts, they had taken no more than five seconds of her time, and yet he watched her now the way he'd watched her the first time they'd gone hunting together: observant, critical, waiting to see if she'd fail.

 _Why?_

She made her way back and craned her neck to look up into his face. Lilythae would have been lying if she said she wasn't afraid of Illidan. She would have been stupid to be comfortable in his presence. She knew exactly what he was capable of, what he had done in the past, and what he intended to do in the future. She suspected he knew what she thought of him, and though he didn't outright harm those within the Illidari for idle questions and concerns he would not hesitate to kill her if she pissed him off.

At this point they had to be miles away from the Black Temple, and even if they were situated right in the center of the damned place she would receive no help. No one would dare stand up to Illidan. In fact if he killed her right in front of them, they'd think it well-deserved. In spite of her various displays of loyalty, time and again, they would believe what Illidan told them.

And yet he chose to bring her out here.

If there was one thing the other Stormrage twin respected it was courage. Right now that was all she had to offer in her confusion as she stared up at him, waiting for him to speak.

Almost immediately his hand snapped out, grabbing her by the neck and slamming her into a nearby boulder. She cried out, startled, and her fingers instinctively rose to her throat to pry at her masters talons.

"You're not much of a liar, Lilythae." He growled. "The Illidari are so close. We almost have the Legion, and I will _not_ have your distrust of me destroying our chance." And with that he threw her to the ground, coughing and regaining her breath. He walked away as he spoke. "Now tell me: what has this distrust stemmed from?"

Slowly Lilythae let her eyes flicker up. Illidan was casually leaning against one of the many fel-tinted boulders that littered Shadowmoon Valley. He stared out into the distance with his back to her, a breeze lightly tousling his long black hair. No doubt he was listening for her to get up. Slowly, she sat back on her knees and took a sip from the water skin at her hip. She took the time to think about what to say next. It was abundantly clear. Illidan had taken her out here to decide whether or not to kill her. If she wanted to survive this encounter she had to choose her words extremely carefully.

"It is not that I don't trust you, Illidan." She said slowly, her voice echoing softly in the air. "But I think many of the Illidari are akin to lost children. Not once have I seen you recruit someone who is sane, who is not drowning in their emotions, or under Kael'Thas's spell."

"You think me manipulative." He filled in, continuing to glare out at the landscape. _Yes._ Lilythae thought. _Exactly it._

"I think you know this world in ways we do not. I think you are charismatic. I think you have suffered greatly, and I think it is you who wants vengeance most of all. You have let it consume you, and you use the pain of others in the hopes of furthering your goals." She said. Illidan's gaze lazily turned back to her.

"And tell me, Lilythae, how is it that _I've_ suffered. Do you know?"

For a moment she wondered if he was toying with her. On occasion the man seemed insane, with his soft rantings about Tyrande and Malfurion. It would be difficult to _not_ know what Illidan's problem was. The longer she stared at him, the angrier she got. _Screw this._ She thought. _I will not play his games. I may as well die with dignity._

"I could ask you the same question." She answered, a hint of ire tainting her voice. "Do you know how _I've_ suffered? How any of the rest of us have suffered? Do you honestly care as much about _our_ stories as the others believe you do?" There was a brief pause as Illidan's eyebrows shot up. She had actually taken him by surprise, and for a moment he almost looked to be at a loss for what to do. It was quickly replaced by an expression so impassive that Lilythae wondered if she had imagined it.

"You lost your child." He stated softly. "You lost her to the demons, and you burned your neutral city to the ground, killing any and all who might have survived." He turned the rest of the way, and though a simple blindfold decorated his face she could still feel his gaze boring through her. "You find me lacking in compassion, yet you have committed crimes just as terrible as mine. I have no use for you if you will treat me with contempt."

Immediately, Illidan rushed her and she just barely managed to dodge the blade that had been dead set on slicing her in half.

"The Illidari worship the ground you walk on!" Lilythae snarled. "Have you no appreciation for that?!" And she threw her glaive at Illidan's head. Even in spite of the enormous horns sprouting from his skull he managed to dodge the heavy metal blade with ease, entirely unimpressed. He raised a hand and caught it as it returned. He threw it back down to her feet.

"Perhaps you should have spent more time training, rather than mulling over my leadership choices. Didn't you hear what I was telling that recruit earlier?" But just as he finished speaking, she rushed up to him, her fel magic stinging him, and swung the other glaive across his body. He dodged at the last second, but he hadn't evaded her completely. A shallow cut had opened across Illidan's chest, trailing down to his chiseled stomach. Though it healed almost instantaneously, his face quickly contorted into something violent and Lilythae felt her own stomach drop.

She'd pissed him off. She'd seen what Lord Illidan did to the people who pissed him off.

Quickly he grabbed her by her horns and threw her. Lilythae expanded her wings and let herself glide back to the ground. She stumbled and fell back into a boulder, but before she could right herself Illidan had materialized before her and with one hand pinned her wrists above her head. With the other he held his own glaive at her stomach, the metal grazing her exposed skin. Though she knew it wouldn't have made the slightest bit of difference, she found herself cursing her clothing choices.

Demon hunters liked to show off their tattoos. That reigned true for them all, but that didn't mean it was practical.

"It'll look suspicious if you return without me." She stated, silently cursing the shakiness in her voice. She wasn't going to escape. At this point she knew that, but if she could stall just a moment more she really could make her peace with death. Her demonic power might have been damn near as potent as his, but when it came to matters of physical strength she was still nearly four feet shorter than Illidan's metamorphosis. There was no way she could overpower him, not like this.

 _I could try and use my magic._ She mused. _But even then I still don't think I'll win._

"Like you said, they worship the ground I walk on. I can tell them something happened to you. Maybe we were ambushed by demons. Perhaps one of Azeroth's self-proclaimed heroes got lucky. There are plenty of things that could have resulted in your untimely demise." Illidan hissed, studying her a moment before letting his glaive trail just a little lower. She could feel the metal as it wandered her skin, freezing the flesh, before it finally fell away. Yet he continued to hold her against the rock. Illidan sighed.

"Well? Are you going to kill me?" The woman questioned.

"You're that eager to die?" He asked.

"No. But if you're going to do it, I'd like it over with." Lilythae said. She watched as her master lowered his head, careful to avoid the sharp points of her curved horns. He stopped just centimeters away from her face.

"I have no desire to kill you." He murmured. He dropped the glaive and his fingers came up to trace the violet swirls decorating her pale flesh. It wasn't until his thumb stopped just beneath her breast that it really clicked.

Oh.

 _Oh._

Needless to say, Lilythae was not prepared.

/*\

Illidan had very conflicted feelings regarding his lieutenant. Her power was daunting. Her petite body held an enormous amount of fel energy and strength, and she only just barely used it. It might have gone unnoticed if not for the steady thrumming glow that encased her silhouette.

Illidan had traded in his eyes for a sort of spectral sight. Perhaps not strictly because he wanted to, but that wasn't the point. This tiny elf woman, unremarkable in every way, held enough power to rival his own. On top of that, she could keep that power in check. He had never once seen her lose control. In fact it was so seamless, so well-bound, he sometimes wondered if she was even aware it existed. Though she didn't know, that was what initially earned her the promotion. He wanted to keep that kind of magic close. There were no physical implications of her strength and yet her aura glowed, invisible to all but her peers. She was as bright as the moon whereas most of the others were little more than the pinpricks of stars.

Now this didn't mean the other women of the Illidari escaped his attention. He most certainly had his own fun with them. His own pain was difficult to wash away, and he wouldn't say no if a pretty girl wanted to offer him a moment of solace. They were all too happy to serve their master in whatever way he pleased, and well, he wanted to be _pleased._

He had his pick before any other man within the ranks. He could have whoever he wanted whenever he wanted, and yet none of his encounters were as satisfying as he might have liked them to be. His intimate partners were too complacent, too concerned with his desires. It was fun to be domineering, but he received submission so easily. It had gotten so boring.

At this point in his life he couldn't decide if he wanted this or not. Right now he was at war. He was doing something important. Trying to pursue an emotional connection would not end well, for him or the woman. Still he knew that, eventually at least, he wanted a woman who saw _him_ rather than the borderline god he sold to the elves who chose to follow him. Someone who saw him and looked at him not with disgust but something else. Lilythae certainly seemed to see him. Unlike the others, male and female alike, she did not grovel at his feet. She behaved professionally and got things done, but she remained distant. Unlike many of the other demon hunters she refused to take comfort in the embrace of one of her fellow Illidari, though he knew she used to get many propositions.

He'd quickly put a stop to that.

To the best he could figure she rejected romance and intimacy because of her daughter. He could not say this for all of his followers but he remembered the day he'd met Lilythae. She'd once been a talented mage, her magic had been the thing he noticed first. In her despair flames consumed buildings and demons and people alike. She had been entirely out of control, wild and untamed. She didn't care who she'd hurt as long as her wrath was appeased.

He didn't know if he admired or pitied her. Perhaps both.

To the point, she was not to be trifled with. From the very beginning she had been aloof and her distant nature persisted. She had proven her loyalty many times over with the deaths of high profile demons and the exposing of traitors within their ranks. Always she performed above and beyond for him, treating him with the respect he deserved but unlike the other women she never jumped at the chance to spend a night in his chamber. In fact she'd seemed rather insulted when he first made an advance. That was where she'd drawn the line.

He wasn't used to lines.

Illidan began to catch himself. Sometimes he would stare a moment too long, letting his gaze ravage her exposed torso. Sometimes he'd speak her name, giving her menial tasks just so he'd have an excuse to look at her. He had even found himself fantasizing about what it might be like if she ever let him remove the too-long skirt that hid her legs.

As he tried to increase his encounters with her he found that she was not as simple as the women who shared his bed. She helped in the first aid tents and did her best to offer emotional support to the newest recruits. She was certainly an asset in the war room and her tongue was as sharp as her glaive. She could cut down any demon in her path with little effort, and she rarely returned with harsh injuries. She was as beautiful as she was clever, and though it was certainly an attractive combination it meant something else: she didn't buy his bullshit.

He found that he was rather surprised at himself. After the high priestess of the moon, he figured he was done with this. Her disinterest had been made clear, because the priestess was not impressed by his dark sorcery. She had wanted Malfurion's light, his natural power. She wanted things that were inherently good, pale in her black and white world, and Illidan hadn't been it. She was the one who had rejected him. The one who had pushed him in this direction. The one who, in spite of everything, he still completely adored. In his hurt and his fury he sold his soul to the demons, much like how he persuaded these young elves to sell their souls to him.

Somehow he had made his peace with that. He knew he would always love her. If his affection survived ten thousand years while he rotted away in a cell, nothing could destroy it. She had been his ruin in every way imaginable, and in spite of his exhaustion he still bore no ill will against her. Yet by some miracle Tyrande no longer plagued his mind. Instead the newest object of his obsession lay stretched out on a large rock, her wrists bound in his hand while the other explored the blood elf's creamy skin. Unlike many of the other demon hunters – himself included – her flesh had not become discolored and scaly. At least he assumed it hadn't been discolored. He could see the outline of her face, the length of her hair, the energy in her eyes, but his color perception had almost completely vanished. He could see the magic that imbued her body, not _her_.

However he could see that her eyes had remained intact during her transformation. Oddly enough she still wore a blindfold. A set of delicate ram horns sat atop a crown of long, silky hair bound severely into a braid. He caught sight of a pair of tiny fangs as she grimaced at him, awaiting his verdict as he trailed his fingers along the bright runes that decorated her form in violet energy.

"I have no desire to kill you." He hummed. He let his sight meet hers and a flash of terror shot across her face. Illidan froze, hand stilling on her body. Her grimace turned into a frown, and her gaze fell to his chest, the deep purple flesh and his glowing green marks. Quickly Illidan removed his hands, freeing her, and he tilted her face back up. He pulled away the blindfold, allowing it to fall to the ground, and he let his lips descend on hers.

He had reason to think she didn't want him. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, but before that he wanted to at least know what this one tasted like. In her surprise she froze up, and even better, her lips were just slightly parted.

The first thing to cross his mind was that Lilythae tasted like the cup of chocolate she'd been drinking earlier. Sweet and spicy and warm. He let his tongue lightly graze her fangs, but still she did not reciprocate. Nor did she resist. Illidan pulled away for a moment to assess her, to gauge her response, and she stared up at him owlishly.

"Really?!" She whispered.

"I've asked you to bed before. Why are you surprised?" To this she narrowed her eyes and turned away.

"True. This isn't new, but you also haven't made that request since you made me a lieutenant. I assumed you'd come to respect me." She snapped. Illidan straightened.

"Explain."

"I will _not_ be a member of your harem." She stated. "I won't lie and say I don't admire you Illidan. You've done much for Azeroth, and in exchange gained the wrath of its people. In spite of that you still continue on, trying to eradicate the legion in the hopes of saving us. Without you they would have already destroyed a great deal more. I would follow you to the ends of the earth. All the same, I will not just let you exploit me." And then lower. "No matter how sexy your magic is."

Illidan quirked a brow.

"You think my magic is sexy? Is that what you just said?" He asked, too mystified to truly be angry. Though it irked him that she spoke to him so casually, that one little statement entirely made up for it. After all, he _wanted_ to impress whatever woman he pursued. Though he had certainly been much more of a show off when he was younger, that didn't mean he'd changed completely.

"That's all you got from that?" She scoffed. "Many of the girls who throw themselves at you are blood elf. In sin'dorei culture, arcane talent is considered extremely attractive."

What an interesting turn this conversation had taken. He took her out here to kill her, and instead gave in to the urge to kiss her, touch her, and take her clothes off. Though he hadn't quite made it to that latter stage just yet, she hadn't outright rejected him. Rather he gained an admission from her. The realization left him feeling quite, well, satisfied. Yet he wanted more.

"You were a powerful sorceress yourself." He replied. "I've witnessed your mortal power myself. A weak man would not suit you, but surely I've proven myself." It wasn't a question.

"Time and again." She said slowly. "But my point stands. I am not a whore. Not for you or anyone else."

"What makes you think I view you as a whore?" He demanded. Lilythae raised an eyebrow.

"What do you use the Den of Mortal Delights for, Illidan?"

He slammed his fists into the rock on either side of her head. She didn't even flinch.

"That is _Lord_ Illidan to you." He snarled, then calmer. "What is it that you want, Lilythae?"

"I don't follow."

"Why do you refuse?" He asked. "Many would consider it an honor to lie with me."

"Then it is an honor you bestow carelessly." She immediately shot back. "I am tired. My brother made me watch as he murdered my husband. Then I found my child-" She stopped. "To the point: I have nothing left. I still grieve for them both, and I cannot bring myself to just sleep with anything that walks. Kill me or leave me be, but pick one."

Slowly Illidan backed away. Her refusal both infuriated him to no end and excited him, but he wouldn't permit her to see that. He'd gotten the answer he was searching for. Now he just needed to figure out what to do with it.

"I see." He said. "In that case return to the Black Temple. Do whatever it was you were doing before I so rudely interrupted you."

He didn't give her a chance to respond before he bolted off somewhere, vanishing before her eyes.

 **/*\**

 **I think this is off to a good start. Did I do a good job keeping Illidan in character?**

 **-Statyck**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again.**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

In spite of herself, Lilythae rather liked the Den of Mortal Delights. It was a wonderful place to sit down and unwind, and though the Illidari could be rather loud during their little sessions with the courtesans, it was usually pleasantly quiet. At least during the day it was.

Today was one of the quiet days. As always there were people in the back, panting and moaning, but today she could relax into one of the large chaises in the corner and sip at a glass of wine. She had finished all of her duties for the day, and she figured it would be a good place to hide during this hour. Concubines and succubi wandered about, quietly chatting among themselves as the male guards kept watch.

The Den really didn't fit with the rest of the Black Temple. Elegant silk tapestries hung from walls and lavish beds littered the room. Lit candles stood on tables, fur and silk rugs softened the floor, and it was always well-stocked with fresh food. Though it was mostly only for the concubines, those of higher status could feast within the Den. She often found herself wondering if it had really been Lord Illidan who built this place, or if it had been someone else. Just as Lilythae got comfortable and began to let her eyes slide closed, a voice called out.

"Hi Lily!" It chirped. "What brings you here today?"

The demon hunter opened her eyes and let a faint smile grace her lips. Women also occasionally solicited the services of the courtesans. Though Lilythae had never chosen to lay with any of them, that didn't stop her from befriending one or two.

"Hello Feyly." Lilythae greeted. "How are you today?"

Feylys' presence in the Den perturbed Lilythae for more than one reason. For starters she looked incredibly young, though the elf insisted she was nearing her fourth decade. She lacked the calm eroticism that many of the courtesans possessed, being bright and cheerful rather than quietly seductive. She seemed far too… _innocent_ to be leading a life of any contentment within the Den, but she insisted that she was happy.

But then the courtesans were offered many luxuries in exchange for their services, from the finest silks to the most comfortable of beds. Though it was the sin'dorei who had more of a reputation for being a rather spoiled race, Feyly seemed to appreciate the finer things in life. She was the only night elf who resided there.

"I'm good." The courtesan said, absentmindedly combing her fingers through her long violet hair. "It's been slow today, so I took the opportunity to have my bath a little bit early. I got to have the spring all to myself." She boasted, her silver eyes glowing. Lilythae made a face.

"I wish I could use the spring. I know I'm supposed to be a badass because I kill demons, but that doesn't mean I like being covered in demon guts all the time." She muttered. Feyly laughed.

"Well I'm sure that I could get Mother Shahraz's permission for you. Lord Illidan isn't in there right now, so it should be fine." Then lower. "If you do odd favors for her, she'll let you do just about anything." Lilythae just giggled and shook her head.

"No, it's fine. There are rivers in Terokkar. I can go there when I get some free time." She said. Feyly's eyebrows immediately furrowed.

"But your mission is so close. You're making so many preparations. Will you get time?" To this Lilythae said nothing. "I'll go ask." And before the demon hunter could make any further protest, her friend left without a word. Lilythae only sighed, and stared down into her wine glass.

She had never expected that Lord Illidan would actually spare her life. Even less that he would actually try to persuade her to spend the night with him. Though she was loathe to admit it, he had frightened her greatly.

Feyly was quick to return. She bounded up to Lilythae, her silks flowing around her slender form, and grinned.

"We have approval, let's go down to the bath."

/*\

Illidan stalked through the halls and back to his own chamber. He wasn't entirely certain what to do about Lilythae. His actions yesterday had certainly put a strain on whatever relationship he had with her. He hadn't seen her once yet, and he didn't think that would bode very well for him. She was supposed to lead that mission in Mardum in six days and if she was worrying over whether or not he'd kill her the next time he saw her, well, that could very well affect her performance in the field.

What he had done was idiotic, he knew that, but then Illidan wasn't exactly known for being a patient man. He wanted her. Soon.

He strode over to his window and stared out. In the distance there was an odd assortment of people wandering through Shadowmoon. He grimaced. Ever since he ensnared Maiev, people had been coming into the valley trying to "save" her.

Maiev Shadowsong was not a woman who needed saving.

She could have gotten out any time she liked, he would have guessed. The only reason she didn't was because she knew, deep down in her heart, that if she succeeded in her goal of killing him she would be nothing. Her purpose in this world would be gone, and she wouldn't know what to do with herself. He sometimes wondered if the chase had driven her mad.

For ten thousand years, she kept him locked away in a cell. The love of his life had freed him, and Maiev had been so angry. He would've thought she'd have found him long before now. She was smart, strong, and entirely reckless. Though he was fairly certain the attraction was mutual, he wanted to kill her just a tad more than he wanted to bed her. After all, ten thousand years was an awful lot of time and it had been completely wasted under her watch. But he had no remorse, he assumed she would sooner kill him than sleep with him too.

All the same, he could not permit this group of adventurers to release her. His mission here was far too important. Maiev might swallow her pride and pretend to let herself be saved, but after that all bets were off. He needed her to stay put until he was in a less compromising position, so he sent word to the guards and that was that.

He started absentmindedly whispering incantations, and created tiny illusions within the confines of his chamber. Memories of Tyrande, and the last time she'd smiled at him. The final conversation he'd had with Maiev, her hostility tangible. Fantasies of the things he wanted to do to Lilythae, watching the images and thinking it didn't look quite right. Though the situation with Lilythae most certainly shouldn't have been the first thing on his mind, it was.

" _I am tired...I have nothing left. I still grieve for them both, and I cannot bring myself to just sleep with anything that walks."_

The more and more he thought about it, the more obvious it seemed to be. Lilythae was not a naturally promiscuous creature. Though it would have made his end goal a little easier, it was not a situation beyond his capabilities. Her voice had sounded so hollow and defeated. She desired comfort, it was just that her idea of comfort was a little bit different from his.

She respected him, he knew that. She had given up any hope of returning to blood elf society when she promised herself to his cause. She knew what the transformation would entail, all of the elves did, and they only did it because he had managed to convince them that he was worth following. That or Kael'Thas had instructed them. Either way they had put massive amounts of trust and faith in him. Though maybe Lilythae was right in that he didn't fully appreciate their devotion, he could certainly understand the weight of his actions on an intellectual level.

He knew that he probably ruined whatever chances these men and women would have had at rebuilding a normal life. After all the different affairs the demon hunters had with one another, _someone_ should have gotten pregnant by now. He didn't know if it was because the fel energy corroded their bodies that deeply or if it was something else entirely, but he knew that the two races of elves could face extinction very soon and that it most certainly didn't help that he siphoned the numbers from both sides.

It was rare for members of an immortal race to bear children. With their immortality gone, he didn't know if the night elves would be able to procreate fast enough to preserve the species. After the Sunwell had been destroyed, the majority of the high elf population had been completely wiped out. It had been genocide to a horrifying degree. There was no telling if the resulting race, blood elves, would be able to rebuild their numbers.

But even if the elves vanished, their efforts here today could lead to a safer world for all of the other people that inhabited Azeroth. Though he didn't particularly care for the likes of the Orcs or the Humans or the Dwarves or any of the rest of them really, he didn't think they deserved the fate that the Legion had in mind for them.

That had to count for something, right?

He banished his tawdry illusions with the wave of his hand and sighed. Thinking in this direction would do him no good. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could reverse the transformations. He couldn't restore these people back to what they once were. Hell, he couldn't even restore _himself_. He had to live with the consequences of his actions, and so did they.

Maybe some time in the Den might ease his mind.

/*\

Lilythae sighed happily as Feyly rinsed her snowy white hair with flower-scented water. The hot spring was the nicest spot in the entire temple. It was underground, lit by tiny fel wisps floating through the air. The spring itself vaguely reminded her of oceanic tide pools, one here, one there, and all of random shapes and sizes. They were all deep enough to hold people, but someone had definitely carved the seats. Sheer curtains separated the pools, giving tiny hints of privacy, and the hunter happily spoke to her companion.

"I forgot how much I used to love things like this." Lilythae commented. "Hot baths, scented water, actual _soap_. Suddenly I've learned to appreciate how easy I used to have it."

"Well I can't relate." Feyly retorted. "I still have it easy." She giggled as Lilythae stuck her tongue out at her.

"Indeed you do." The demon hunter muttered. Another bucket of water doused her head and Lilythae quickly spoke to her friend. "You don't have to do that you know. I am capable of bathing myself."

"I know." Feyly answered. "But I already had my bath, and I'd rather dump water on your head than let Torin have his way with me again." She shuddered. Lilythae's eyebrows furrowed.

"I find that worrying. You've never complained about any of the demon hunters before." To this Feyly seemed to shrink. A terrible grimace crossed her mouth, and the expression marred the pretty little stripe tattoos that decorated her cheeks and accented her eyelids. She almost looked like she had a dragonfly imprinted on her face, but the wings were crushed in her momentary despair. She clutched the bucket looking almost scared, as though she realized she said something she shouldn't have. Finally she seemed to steel herself and began to speak.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong I like the other hunters. They're usually very sweet, but Torin…" She trailed off.

"What's he done?" Lilythae asked.

"Well he hasn't done anything _wrong_. Technically." Feyly quickly muttered. "That being said, he likes to scratch and bite. And not sexy scratching and biting. It actually really hurts. I tried to hand him off to one of the other girls who are into that sort of thing, but he just keeps coming back to me."

"He's left marks on you?" Lilythae pressed, her voice beginning to rise. "If so you can go straight to Lord Illidan. That's against the rules, and I imagine especially since it's you. You are the only kal'dorei courtesan. You're special."

"Maybe." Feyly responded, giggling slightly, but then she spoke softer. "But that's the thing. I don't have any marks. I don't know what Torin did before he was a demon hunter, but he's very good at healing magic. He always makes sure to patch up the wound before anyone else can see what he did. There's nothing I can do." She stated forlornly. With that, Feyly took a bottle of shampoo and began combing it through Lilythae's hair.

"Maybe there's something _I_ can do." Lilythae whispered. At Feylys' panicked look the hunter quickly calmed her down. "I'm not going to report him. I won't even confront the bastard about it. As one of Lord Illidans' lieutenants I can make schedule changes. We've got a supply run tomorrow. I can switch him out for someone else. It should keep him out of your hair for at least two weeks. I'll see if I can't figure something out in that time."

"Thanks Lily." Feyly said. "You're the best." And with that everything fell silent once more, that is, until Feylys' hands lowered, beginning to massage Lilythae's shoulders.

"Feyly." Lilythae murmured. "What have I told you about molesting me?" The concubine sighed.

"You don't even let me get down to your boobs anymore." She pouted. "Can you really blame me for trying though? You've got to be one of the most beautiful women in the Illidari. I want in your pants." She teased. Lilythae's eyes darkened.

"You and everyone else."

/*\

Illidan couldn't decide if he was amused or annoyed. He'd decided to move down to the baths with one of his favorite women, a pretty little elf named Marhail, when he realized he would not be alone in the spring.

He'd gotten there just in time to hear one of his hunters scold one of the courtesans. Under any other circumstance it would have sounded flirtatious, but now? No. He recognized the voice, and he knew immediately that it was the one and only person in the entire temple who would reject the advances of the only night elf mistress. Feyly tried to tell her how pretty she was, but Lilythae was having none of it. It would have been cute, how disappointed the young consort looked, if it wasn't for the wave of jealousy that roiled down in Illidan's stomach. Lilythae actually appeared to be relaxed under the other woman's touch, where she had been reluctant to let him just caress her face.

But then, he had been going to kill her.

The two women fell silent immediately, surprised expressions flashing across both faces before they nodded to him respectfully.

"Hello Lilythae." Illidan greeted, smoothly sinking into the pool next to hers. Slowly the woman responded.

"Lord Illidan." She said, slightly bowing her head.

"Feyly." He said, shifting his attention. "I noticed upstairs you have someone waiting for you."

"I have to finish up with Lily first, my lord." She said. "I promise, I will get to them in a timely fashion."

"You may as well go now, young one." Illidan pressed. "Something tells me Lilythae will not accept your advances. Go, please the young woman who wishes to see you. Marhail can attend to us both."

"A woman?" Feyly blurted, startled. "I mean, yes my lord." She quickly corrected herself. "Bye Lily." She said softly, waving.

"Goodbye Feyly." Lilythae answered, her voice warmer. For a moment all was silent. Illidan felt Marhail gently pull his hair out of its half-tail, and she silently poured water over his head. She was just reaching for the shampoo when Illidan spoke again.

"'Lily'?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at his lieutenant. She only shrugged, looking down into the water.

"It makes her happy, my lord." She mumbled.

"And you care about Feyly's happiness?" He inquired, lazily staring at her as his attendant lightly massaged his shoulders. Lilythae looked at him uneasily, taking the comb from the side of her pool. She was careful not to let him see anything beneath her collarbone as she groomed her own hair. How annoying.

"I do." She said. "Feyly is my friend. Though I do not wish to lay with the courtesans, I like the Den."

"And why is that?" He inquired. He could almost taste her discomfort.

"It's relaxing, my lord." For a moment she let her gaze drop down. Illidan remained silent. He turned away from her, staring up at the rocky ceiling. He was about to instruct Marhail to shift her attentions when the sound of a loud ruckus emanated from the doorway. Screaming could be heard, as well as the sounds of the Illidari swearing and furniture breaking. Lilythae looked like she was about to jump from the pool when he held a hand up, motioning for her to stop.

"Something's wrong." He stated. "Marhail, attend to Lilythae. This shouldn't take long."

"But I can–" Lilythae started, but Illidan shot her a hard look.

"I'll take care of it." He hissed. Immediately he jumped out of the pool, his hooves dripping water. He clothed himself fast enough that he knew Lilythae wouldn't have had time to see anything, and sped up the stairs.

/*\

Marhail watched in awe as Lord Illidan bounded up the stairs, forbidding the other hunter from participating in whatever fight that had erupted upstairs. Hesitantly she moved to kneel behind the horned woman, gingerly moving her hair as the shrill screaming continued.

Marhail didn't know very much about Lilythae, but she knew that she was the only hunter who refused to take lovers. She even rejected Lord Illidan's attention. She liked to come to the Den to sleep and make conversation with Feyly, but that was it.

As the concubine silently combed the woman's hair, something caught her eye. There was a scar on Lilythae's left shoulder. Scars weren't uncommon among the Illidari, but this one very plainly didn't come from battle. For starters, the wound hadn't been deep. It had been just enough to create a very soft scar, barely visible to the naked eye. Teeth marks were forever engraved into Lilythae's skin. They made up a loose oval encasing the curve of her shoulder. Four larger dots marked where someone's canines might be, and if Marhail had no comprehension of night elf culture she would've had no idea what it was.

It was a healed kal'dorei mating mark.

Marhails first thought was that it had to be Illidans. His insistence that Lilythae stay behind could have been interpreted as contempt at first glance, but Marhail knew her lord a little better than many of the other consorts in the Den. After all, she was one of his favorites. He was the only man allowed to touch her. Marhail had spent a great deal of time with him.

She knew favoritism when she saw it. Illidan had been very focused on the lieutenant for some time. He approached his personal harem less and less. The last time Marhail herself had lain with him had to have been at least a month ago. Though she wasn't that emotionally invested in her lord, she knew the others would be devastated.

His reaction to Feyly had been her first clue. Illidan rarely got jealous over anything, so when he did he wasn't very good at hiding it. His insistence that Feyly leave had seemed a bit odd. She had only been washing Lilythae's hair, and even if she'd made other advances the hunter had rejected them.

All the same Illidan had lost his shit over it. He quietly lost his shit, but he still lost it.

Her second clue was his prying. Illidan didn't often inquire after the hunters' personal lives. He didn't care who they chose to bed or not bed or just be friends with. He wanted to know all about Lilythae's relationship with Feyly.

Her final clue was the incident upstairs. She knew that other people would notice as well. Feyly, being the only night elf in the temple who lacked horns, was one of the most sought-after concubines among the men and women who used the Den. Her absence was always noticed, especially when she chose to go off with Lilythae somewhere. The people in the Den knew that Feyly had come down to the baths with the lieutenant, just as they knew that Illidan had followed soon after with a personal consort.

And now he'd left that personal consort to take care of a hunter who was in perfect shape to fight. Why would he insist she stay here and get pampered if not because he wanted her? And more than that, because he wanted her approval?

As Marhail stared a little harder at the mark she realized it couldn't possibly belong to her master. Illidans magic would have had a much stronger presence around Lilythaes form if he'd claimed her. In fact, now that she thought about it, Marhail couldn't sense the marks magic hardly at all. It was so weak that even looking for it she had a difficult time seeing it. That was when the realization set in. Oh. Lilythae's mate was dead.

"Take a photo." Lilythae snapped. "It'll last longer."

Marhail jumped and cowered.

"I'm sorry!" She immediately squeaked. "It's just-I thought I was the only one." Marhail cautiously looked up to see Lilythae staring at her inquisitively.

"Explain."

Swiftly, Marhail pulled down the shoulder of her uniform silk dress. She did her best to position herself in the light, and as Lilythae's eyes widened she knew the hunter saw it.

"You were married to a night elf." Lilythae stated. "I can't sense any lingering magic around you. Your husband is dead as well."

"He is." Marhail stated softly. Lilythaes' eyes flew up, meeting Marhails' gaze.

"I am sorry for your loss." She said.

"And I am sorry for yours." The consort answered. Silence permeated the air, and Marhail fiddled with the comb a moment.

"Would you like me to continue on your hair?" She asked. Lilythae shook her head.

"No it's fine. I can take care of myself from here."

"Are you sure? Lord Illidan would be displeased if he were to return and find that I was not seeing to your needs." To this, Lilythae smiled.

"Then I suppose it's alright."

As Marhail sat down on her knees prepping the comb, all she could think to herself was that she needed to come up with a story for this quickly. Once the rest of Illidans consorts caught wind of Lilythaes seemingly heightened status, they would not be pleased.

/*\

Illidan couldn't remember the last time he'd been so pissed off. This little group of adventurers, tiny men with tiny shields, had actually had the audacity to try and invade his temple. He swung his glaives, dismembering a human man with ease. The consorts themselves fought, and as he fended off a draenei paladin he caught sight of Feyly. She had been cornered by a pair of dwarves.

A pair of dwarves with very big guns, and all Feyly had was a candlestick.

He momentarily toyed with the idea of letting her die, but quickly discarded it. That was the kind of thinking that got him kicked in the ass last time. Lilythae would be very unhappy if Feyly met her demise here.

Quickly he darted over, letting his fel energy explode over the area. The dwarves were promptly wounded, and their attention turned to him. They fired, again and again, but unfortunately for them there was no effect. He moved too fast. He disposed of them quickly and continued on.

His soldiers had managed to eliminate most of the invaders, but much of the damage had already been done. Bodies littered the floor, demon and elf alike. Blood soaked the fine fur rugs, and broken beds and chairs splintered all over the floor.

Once the last of the invaders had been dispatched, many of the hunters returned the Den to count survivors. Several found the bodies of their favorite courtesans and some even broke down crying, holding the corpses close as they let their sadness loose. Illidan turned to see that Feyly had survived the onslaught. She gripped her candlestick tightly in both hands and she was shaking, but she was doing her best to put on a brave front.

"Well." She muttered, seemingly to herself. "That was terrifying."

"Indeed. Return to the baths and let Lilythae know what happened." Then he turned to the rest of the hunters. His voice boomed with anger. "Scour the rest of the temple! I want to know what happened. How the hell did they make it this far without anyone sounding the alarm?!" The demon hunters scurried away, and Illidan wasted no time in following them.

Illidan Stormrage was not unaccustomed to attacks, but this one upset him deeply. There was no way that all of those people had actually managed to stealth their way into his temple, yet there were far too few of them for them to have actually expected to make it. They hadn't released Maiev either, and that bothered him greatly. It had been as though this mission had been designed to fail. It wasn't real.

It was some kind of test.

 **/*\**

 **Welp. Hope you liked the second chapter just as much as the first!**

 **-Statyck**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the comments and the favs and the follows! I didn't expect anyone to like this. It was literally originally just self-indulgent bullshit. That being said I** _ **was**_ **hoping that I was doing a good job on this story! It's good to know that I'm doing Illidan justice. That was very much the goal. :3 I hope you like this chapter as much as the other two!**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

Lilythae watched as her peers knelt around pyres, for the Illidari and the concubines alike, and said prayers. Some prayed for them to make it to the Light. Others hoped that Elune would take in their souls. Lord Illidan stood some ways away, observing the mass funeral. Once the prayers had finished and the training grounds fell silent, the Lord of Outland spoke.

"What happened here yesterday was a travesty." His voice boomed. For once he did not sound angry or indifferent, but sad. "We lost friends, lovers, those somewhere in between. They offered us strength and comfort alike in our times of need. May their souls rest peacefully in whatever realm they now reside in." Illidan had never been a man of many words, and now was no exception. Lilythae listened as Feyly clutched her hand. The hunter looked over for a brief second and found her friend hanging her head. Her eyes had gone misty and her lip trembled. She was trying desperately not to cry.

Very gently Lilythae squeezed back, and that was it. Her face contorted and she looked to the ground, sobs wracking her frame. Quickly Lilythae pulled her close and let the night elf sob on her shoulder while she observed as each pyre was set aflame, one by one.

It took hours for the fires to die down. By the end of the event almost everyone was sitting, Lord Illidan included. Lilythae still had Feyly tucked into her side, and when it was over she gently prodded her.

"Feyly." Lilythae said. "It's time to get up, the funeral is over. Come on, let's get you back to the Den." Without a word the young woman nodded and the demon hunter pulled the other elf to her feet.

"Lilythae." Illidan said, not looking away from the ashes. "When you are done, return here to me. I wish to speak with you."

/*\

Feyly watched at Lilythae walked away, feeling suddenly vulnerable without the huntress near. She had actually tucked the night elf into a bed, as though she were a child who'd just suffered a nightmare. She'd been too upset to protest, and instead clutched the blanket tighter as Lilythae reassured Feyly that she'd be back later. The other girls were either sleeping, crying, or behaving like nothing happened. It didn't take two minutes for the night elf to hear a girl whisper,

"Now that Anara is gone, maybe I'll finally be able to get Zael to realize I exist." She hissed. "I know he survived. I saw him at the funeral."

Immediately Feyly pulled a pillow over her head. She'd known Anara. The dead concubine had been a very sweet and shy girl. Like most of the others here she hadn't been strong enough to survive the demon hunter transformation. Based on her miniscule mana levels they had been able to tell her that for certain, and so she'd chosen to work the Den instead. Anara had been an only child who lost both her parents in the Scourge attacks, and she hadn't wanted to end up living in the slums of Silvermoon right out of the orphanage. She had wanted a better life, and the Illidari had taken her in no questions asked.

And now these girls were speaking of her as though she had been nothing more than a nuisance. In spite of the pillow, Feyly still heard the comments.

"I'm glad Irine died. She was annoying."

"Oh Katya's gone too? Pity. For her."

"Maybe I'll get more work now."

And if that wasn't already enough, Feyly heard something truly disturbing.

"One of Lord Illidans girls were lost? Maybe I'll get a promotion."

"Not a chance. He's got an eye on one of those demon hunters. He hardly sleeps with his harem anymore." Swearing. Then a pause.

"Are you sure? The demon hunters love to sleep around. It's probably just a one-time thing."

"Didn't you notice yesterday? That lieutenant, Lilythae Bloodbringer, wasn't at the battle."

"I thought her last name was Starsong?" The other mused. "She was probably somewhere else."

"Nope, she was down in the spring with Feyly. Then our Lord went down as well with Marhail. Feyly came back up right before the attack, and then Lord Illidan showed up. There was no sign of Lilythae or Marhail."

Feyly peeked out from under her pillow. Who was that? She couldn't see. They were on her other side.

"Hey!" One of the women called, then lower, "What was that about yesterday? Why couldn't Lilythae fight?"

"Huh?" A new voice said. Marhail.

"Why did Lord Illidan leave you down in the spring with her?"

"He wanted her to protect me." She answered smoothly. "She was the only other one in the baths, and he didn't want to leave me by myself."

"Please." One of the others scoffed. "Do you really expect us to believe that? His favorite is Kalyne, not you."

"He likes me better than you." She retorted. For a moment everything was silent.

"Tell us the truth." The second woman snarled. "Why did he leave you there?"

"I am not sure what you want me to say. I have told you why. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." Marhail said dismissively. Then Feyly heard tiny footsteps, and saw Marhail pass her line of vision.

"Maybe we should bring this up to Kalyne." One of the voices hissed as soon as Marhail was out of earshot. "She might be able to solve the problem."

"Don't you think that's a little extreme? It's not like he hasn't slept with other demon hunters."

"No, but I think she's lying. When was the last time Illidan left one of his consorts, his own personal consorts, to tend to someone else?"

"How do you know that's what she was doing though? Marhails' words aren't that far-fetched. Even if she's not exactly the favorite, he's still the only one allowed to touch her. As she said, he does like her better than the rest of us."

"Then why do none of the others, Kalyne even, get guards?" The conversation paused.

"We weren't expecting an attack." The other girl said. "Wait, where are you going?"

"To talk to Kalyne. You might not know this, but I do. Lord Illidan shares the bath with no one. Not even the women. He let her stay there, but sent Feyly away. Doesn't that seem a little strange to you?" A pause.

"Maybe a little. Why did he send Feyly away?"

"No clue. She was up here trying to fight her way out with a candlestick. Can you believe that? A candlestick."

After that they had gotten too far away for her to hear. Feyly waited for a few seconds before she felt it was safe. She pushed aside the pillow and her blanket and headed over to the kitchen area. She couldn't sleep now. She needed coffee.

She didn't think she needed to be worried. Kalyne could be jealous sometimes but she wasn't stupid. The consorts might be, but Kalyne understood the consequences of what it would mean to actively harm one of her masters. Even if she was the favorite, for now, Lilythae outranked her. She would know better than to try and pick a fight with one of the Illidari. Especially one of Illidans' lieutenants.

At least, Feyly really hoped so. Maybe she should talk to Lilythae, just to be safe.

/*\

Lilythae approached Lord Illidan as he stared out at the blackened mounds. The training grounds had been the most reasonable choice to hold the funeral. The winds would have better access to the remaining ashes here. They could take them away from this place and scatter them across the land. Some of the people within the temple had chosen to keep small portions of the ashes in small flasks or vials, to remember those they loved.

Lilythae sincerely hoped that all the piles had been taken from.

"You wished to speak with me, my lord." She stated, standing a few feet behind him. Illidan turned and appraised her.

"That was quick of you." He remarked. "Indeed, I did. You lead our assault on Mardum in five days."

"I do."

"Now that our numbers have been culled," he spat, "you may have to make do with fewer soldiers."

"It won't be an issue. I began editing my battle plans last night, after it was all over. This will go without a hitch." Lilythae assured. Then lower, with a violent expression crossing her face, "I'll _make_ it go without a hitch."

"Good." He said, a faint smile gracing his face. "Are you finished with your alterations, or do you need a little more time?"

"I should be done within the hour."

"Excellent." He stood up with a flourish. "Come to my chambers when you've completed your plans. I'd like to look them over."

"Of course, my lord." She said. As soon as he passed her, she let her eyes fall on the pyres. "So many." She whispered to herself, before turning and taking her own leave. She made her way through the temple to the barracks.

Being one of Illidans' personal lieutenants, Lilythae had a private room all to herself. Most of them did. She had a tiny bathroom off to the side, but it only provided the basics. She couldn't get a shower longer than ten minutes. It didn't even get warm either. It was all about constant endurance training in the Illidari. After all, pampered soldiers made for incompetent enemies.

Her bed was small, but it was comfortable enough. Her tiny wardrobe held four sets of armor, just basic Illidari robes, and a spare set of training glaives. She had a couple of nightdresses, but they were made of linen so scratchy that she oftentimes just slept in her underwear.

The only real luxury she was afforded were her blankets. They were heavy and soft, made from enchanted wool. They didn't get dirty, nor did they wear out. They would last as long as she lived, and though the pillows were rather flat, she wasn't going to complain.

If this was the price to be paid for the privilege of avenging her baby girl, then so be it.

Lilythae sat down at her tiny desk and glared down at the plans. There were certain zones that just absolutely could not afford to lose any soldiers. However it might not be an issue after they opened up the gates for their outside allies. Maybe….

/*\

Illidan laid flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling of his room.

Being the leader of the Illidari he had many luxuries. For starters, his bed wasn't stuffed with hay. His desks were made of fine, rare woods. Silk sin'dorei tapestries draped the walls, each of them having been created especially for him. They were imbued with magic, so he could actually see the shapes imprinted on the cloth.

He had a large amount of space, decorated almost exclusively in fur rugs, and his windows allowed him to view the entirety of Shadowmoon Valley. It was actually a very nice view, all black and green in his peculiar sight, if one could overlook the fact that it had been created by the damned demons.

Quickly he turned as he heard knocking.

 _That must be Lilythae._ Though he liked the idea of letting her in and throwing her onto his bed, unfortunately other things had to take precedence. Illidan might be a lot of things, but irresponsible wasn't one of them. If he didn't get these battle plans sorted, then they wouldn't be able to drive the demons out of Mardum. They could not be allowed to get any farther into Azeroth.

He'd throw her on the bed after the discussion was over.

"Come in." He called, but as the intruder entered he realized it wasn't actually Lilythae.

It was Kalyne.

He sat up, walking away from the bed as she made her entrance.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, perplexed. Kalyne was a blood elf, and the self-proclaimed queen of the consorts. For a long time she had been his preferred bed mate. She was pretty, prideful, and powerful, and she was a creature jealous enough to rival Illidan himself. She was very good with magic, and her studies never failed to impress him. She had actually helped in the construction of the first mana bomb. She was quick with her tongue in all the right ways, and soft curves outlined her frame. Her brows furrowed as she pushed aside her neatly short hair – black hair, as she'd once told him. Magic swirled around her body, shimmering silks barely covering her breasts and butt while leaving all else exposed.

"And I thought you'd have been happy to see me, my lord." She pouted. "What with all the commotion lately, I thought you'd have liked some company."

"If I wanted you, I'd have sent for you." He deadpanned.

"That's not very nice." She grumbled. "I just wanted to surprise you."

"Consider me surprised." He answered. "But I don't have time for this right now. I'm waiting for one of my lieutenants to bring me her plans."

"'Her?'" Kalyne questioned. Illidan crossed his arms.

"Yes, her." He stated, staring hard at his consort.

"But what for?" She asked.

"It is not your place to question me." He growled.

Kalyne said nothing but an ugly grimace crossed her pretty face. Illidan bit his tongue. Though he had a few things he'd like to say to her regarding her audacity, he'd rather not stir up trouble with the women in the Den. It was likely that Kalyne had spies set up outside the door, waiting to see who showed up. She'd know it was Lilythae soon enough, but all the same: he owed her no explanations for anything.

Kalyne absolutely could have been a member of the Illidari. She could have survived the transformation with no problems, but she was far too lazy. She had no interest in fighting. She much preferred the lavish finery that the Den offered, where many of the women there had wanted to be demon hunters but were held back by their limited power. Needless to say not many liked Kalyne, but they were smart enough to be frightened of her. Many of the shady things that occurred within the confines of the Den were done under her instructions, such as the random poisonings of girls she didn't especially like.

She was vicious and entirely merciless, and though Illidan rather admired her strength he found her to be far too petty. It might have been cute in the beginning, but as time went on she became more and more unhinged. She was powerful enough to mess with the enslaved demons, the other women, and even the demon hunters if she found them too off-putting. He'd very quickly learned that even just saying someone's name in her presence could lead to massive amounts of trouble for the unfortunate soul. Though he knew it had to be her, there was never any kind of incriminating evidence. It would be difficult to just get rid of her.

Though he was loathe to admit it, Kalyne could get away with whatever she wanted. She knew how to hide things until it was too late for him to do anything about it, and though she'd never had the bravery to go after one of his personal lieutenants he didn't want to take the risk. Not this close to the attack.

"Though I appreciate your visit." Illidan stated. "I do have to wait for her to show up. Please return to the Den. I'll call when I need you."

"Fiiiine." She pouted. "But you have been neglecting me an awful lot lately. Next time bring me down to the springs. Marhail is cute, but I'm better."

"Duly noted."

And with that she left, taking her tantalizing magic with her. One thing was abundantly certain. He needed to keep Kalyne away from Lilythae.

/*\

"No, you were right the first time." Illidan stated, shortly after the lieutenant explained her reasoning. "You overthought it." He moved the tactical piece to a different part of the map.

"But if I put the soldiers there, doesn't that give the demons access to the road?" Lilythae asked, biting her lip.

"It does, but not for long. The way you have this set up is smart, but if you want to focus on getting the gates open first you have to do it fast."

"I see." She grimaced. Illidan tilted his head at her.

"You disagree?" He asked. Quickly she shook her head no.

"No, not at all. I just wanted to work this out so that we had as little contact with them as possible until I got the gates open to minimize the losses." She explained. "But this does make more sense. But it also puts the damn things in our way. If there's something powerful in their ranks they could take out so many soldiers." She snarled, glaring at the map.

"You're overthinking it." Illidan repeated. "Be careful of that. Thinking about something too much can be just as bad as not thinking enough. Prepare for the worst, but don't behave as though it's a certainty."

"That's very optimistic of you, my lord." Lilythae remarked.

"Perhaps." He answered. "But the demons have surely heard of the attack on the Black Temple. They'll be underestimating us greatly. I don't think there will be any pitlords or the like down there."

"I hope not." She murmured. "But other than that, my lord, are my battle plans satisfactory?"

"After my alterations, I'd say they're perfect." He stated, momentarily turning to glance out the window. Were those more adventurers?

"…Thank you, my lord." She stated, though she certainly didn't sound grateful. He smiled faintly as he sent word to the guards at the Warden's Cage.

"It's a nonissue." Illidan wandered back to her side. He looked her up and down and found that she was steadily gazing back at him. A moment of silence passed before she spoke again,

"Did you need something else of me, my lord?" She asked evenly, completely unfazed when he reached out a single finger and moved it along one of the swirling tattoos on her shoulder.

"Perhaps." He murmured.

"You know that there is one order I _will_ refuse to obey, my lord." She growled as his fingers slid down her arm.

"Then I'll have to think of one that you'll be pleased to answer." He retorted. He grasped her wrist and spun her to face him. "You won't lay with me. I won't press the issue. However I can think of plenty of other requests." Swiftly he pinned her up against the wall.

"This again?" She asked, unimpressed. "I don't much like being restrained." She muttered.

"Too bad." He answered, before placing his lips against hers once more. And once more he received no reaction from her. She didn't resist but she didn't answer his call either.

It was completely maddening.

"Why?" He asked. "Why do you do nothing?"

"Mainly because I am not sure why it is you want me." She answered, looking up at him. "There are so many other girls who would be willing to let you take them in an instant. If you went down to the Den right at this moment and asked for volunteers to spend the night in your bed there would be a stampede to this chamber." Her brows furrowed, making her look almost troubled. "It's been almost a year since the first time you made such a request of me. Why do you persist?"

Illidan should have put more thought into his answer.

"You're the only one who says no." He said. A grimace crossed her pretty face.

"I understand. So I'm a challenge. Nothing more. You do not admire me in any way." She said, turning her head.

"That is not what I meant." He said, then he paused. He had gained an admission from her, the day before the attack. The day he'd been going to kill her. Perhaps this was a situation where an equal trade might benefit him? "I admire you in many ways. You're clever, powerful, beautiful. Your skill in battle is daunting. You are loyal to a fault. And I know you admire _me_. You told me. So why do you refuse?" She looked at him sideways.

"Because I want more than admiration." She answered simply. "Perhaps it sounds a little cliché of me to say, but after this war and after all the demons are gone I want to have a semi-normal life. I want to have love and to be happy and to never see a Light-damned succubus or infernal or even an imp ever again." She was almost ranting near the end.

"You and me both." He quipped, letting his hands drop from her wrists. "So it is love that you want?" For some reason, the question brought a small smile to Lilythae's face as she looked up at him.

"Isn't that what most of us want?" She asked. "Is that not why the Illidari have affairs of intimacy? Isn't it why there were so many weeping at the funeral this morning?" Carefully she reached up and tousled the hair at the base of Illidans' horns. "Isn't it why we wear these horns and wings and blindfolds? Because we wish to avenge the love we've all lost?" Quickly she pulled back, as though only just realizing the enormous line she'd crossed. "Sorry…" She muttered.

But she didn't have to be sorry. She was completely right. He told her so, and bent down to kiss her once more.

For a split second, she very softly kissed back.

/*\

"Don't be sorry." He whispered. "You aren't wrong."

Lilythae did not love Lord Illidan. That was the first and foremost thought in her mind as he pressed his lips against hers. At the same time she did hold affection for him.

In the aftermath of that attack, that one awful week where she'd lost the two people she loved most, Illidan had offered her sanctuary. He'd noticed that she'd been the one who burned everything to the ground. He'd noticed that she'd killed all those people without really meaning to. He noticed the limp bundle she'd held in her arms, and he and his followers had been the only ones to show her compassion.

He had a lieutenant help her dig the tiny grave. The woman had even let her cry for a while before she left Lilythae to her own devices.

But little did she know, the Illidari had been following her. She had been so distraught, so hopeless, that she'd wandered into the forest. She'd tied the noose and was ready to jump, when the same woman appeared again. She made her offer under her lords' instruction, and Lilythae took it. The Illidari might give her purpose in a world where she had nothing left. She could be reforged by blood and fel and become something new. She could let Lilythae the Mage have the death she desired, and Lilythae the Demon Hunter could wander the world in search of vengeance.

Illidan had given her a chance. In her darkest moment he'd given her something to hold on to, and though he could be something of an arrogant bastard sometimes, she would still follow him anywhere.

Yet, in spite of all that, she did not quite love him.

All the same she kissed him back, just barely, but enough for him to rumble in approval. He didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around her and pull her close. He was quick to tug at her silver hair piece and unravel her braid. He deepened the kiss all too quickly, and when he finally pulled back her breathing had gone quick and shallow. She could feel the blood rushing to her face and her eyes remained half-lidded. Her hands had landed on his bare chest, requiring both intimacy and space, and she looked up at his blindfold through her long white hair.

She stared at the spots where his eyes should be, and she got the sense that he was staring back. His thumb absently stroked her hip, and he placed a tiny peck on her lips before he swiftly lifted her up and tossed her onto his bed. She yelped in surprise as he climbed atop her placing kisses all along her neck, hot and insistent and demanding. It wasn't until he'd pushed a knee between hers that she froze up.

Immediately he pulled back, but then she was wrenched up off of the bed. Had he pulled her up with him? No. Her eyes flicked to his face, and just at the corner of her sight she saw it. It took every ounce of her self-control not to burst out laughing.

Illidan had actually gotten his horns caught on hers. They were interlocked, like a pair of stags that had just gotten into a fight. The look on his face was so awkward, so utterly mortified, she couldn't help it. She giggled.

/*\

Malfurion watched the scene with interest. Though his wife didn't quite approve of the arcane arts, that didn't mean the archdruid didn't appreciate their use. Often he called the mages here to help him scry. Even if Illidan wasn't exactly a friend anymore, he also wasn't an enemy. He was still Malfurions' brother, and like any good sibling Malfurion still worried over him.

Ever since the incident in Northrend, Illidan had trapped himself brooding on his little rock and bedding anything that walked on two legs. He checked in through the scrying magic at least once a week, if not more. Illidan was trying to do something good. Maybe his methods were a little unorthodox – okay so they were a lot unorthodox – but that wasn't the point. Even if he seemed to be drifting towards insanity day after day the druid knew that Illidan had gone into this with the best of intentions. At least he hoped so.

Inwardly Malfurion sighed. He knew that perhaps it had been a little cruel, to pursue the woman he knew they both loved. He'd known it would break Illidans' fragile heart. He knew it would destroy the relationship between the three of them, if only because Illidan was so sensitive. He'd done his damnedest to get her attention and impress her. He served under Ravencrest, one of the only non-Highborne to do so. He fought in the War of Ancients. He even lost his eyes to Sargeras to trick the demon into thinking he belonged to the Legion and it had all been for Tyrande, to show that he was worthy of her attention. In that respect, it had been all for naught. If Illidan had no other redeeming qualities it was that he knew how to love deeply and with his entirety. Malfurion knew that his twin brother had never truly stopped loving Tyrande, but new developments led Malfurion to believe that maybe there was hope.

He could understand what Illidan would see in the little blood elf who wouldn't let him touch her. Like Illidan she understood the loss of love, even if by different circumstances. She treated his brother with respect, and did not siphon off his power the way that some of his concubines did. She was loyal to Illidan but she saw him, and though she held him at arm's length she also seemed to hold affection for him in spite of his many flaws.

Tonight that all changed. For the first time ever the woman, Lilythae he thought her name was, actually kissed Illidan back. For the first time ever he saw Illidan express a side of himself he hadn't shown to his concubines or any other creature he took to bed. Sometimes the archdruid couldn't tell if it was a woman or a demon.

Actually no, come to think of it, Malfurion had seen this before. The change had started several months into her arrival at Illidan's base. When she was in his presence, Lilythae brought out something in Illidan that was kind, humorous, and almost gentle. Malfurion knew feigned confidence when he saw it. He'd grown up with Illidan. He was straightforward with his desires, always disappointed when she shot him down. Though he appeared domineering he approached her hesitantly, respecting her space. He bombarded her with trivial requests and missions, just for an excuse to speak with her. He tried to get her attention from all different angles until something stuck, and as he watched the woman giggle at her predicament Malfurion couldn't help but smile.

Perhaps Illidan had finally found what he was looking for. Malfurion couldn't remember the last time he'd heard his brother laugh.

 **/*\**

 **So that little romantic bit was nice. At least I thought so. Did I rush into it too quickly?**

 **-Statyck**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Thank you for all the continued support! Originally this story was going to be one week long, with seven chapters. But each chapter is a whole day, they're almost 5k words on average, and I still have so much more story I want to tell. So it's not one day for each chapter anymore. Thank you!**

 **-Statyck**

 **P.S. As for the canon events, you'll just have to see what happens. ;P Sorry!**

 **/*\**

When she didn't resist, he was pleased. When she let him rake his fingers through her silken hair, he was even more pleased. When she kissed him back he practically purred. When she nipped down on his lip he threw caution to the wind.

That had been a fatal mistake.

She had been quick to gather up her plans and bolt. After Illidan had managed to untangle his horns from hers – he wasn't sure how he'd done that – he'd tried to continue. He'd laughed along with her, to assure her he wasn't mad, and placed tiny kisses on her lips. He pressed her back down to the bed, blanketing her with his body, but she held her arms up between them. She wasn't scratching at his face, but she did not wish to go any further.

Whatever he'd done, it had upset her. Though it disappointed him to do it he lifted himself up and off of her. As soon as he gave the opening Lilythae scurried away. Her long hair obscured her face, and she neatly removed his battle pieces from the plans before rolling them back up into scrolls.

"Anyways," she mumbled, barely audible, "I should probably inform my unit of the new plan."

"That would be a good idea." Illidan answered slowly, sitting back on his knees. Where before she had been so confident and even a little willing she had suddenly grown shy. Why? She nodded and made for the door, but Illidan was quick to intercept her. Just as she pulled it open he pushed it shut, and she turned to look at him questioningly.

"My lord…?"

"Before you leave," he said, "know that you can come back. You are welcome in my chambers any time you like." He stared down at her, hoping she understood what he was saying. Slowly she nodded her head.

"I'll keep that in mind, my lord." She stated, before opening the door and quietly shutting it behind her. Illidan listened as her soft footsteps padded away from him. He sighed, letting his forehead sit against the door before he took a step back.

True, the separation had been abrupt and he knew he'd startled her, but for now that was okay. He turned and walked over to his desk, picking up one of the ornate filigree hair pieces that glowed with magical residue. For the first time perhaps ever, he learned that he rather appreciated the gaudiness of elven braids.

If she wanted the three metal rings back, she'd have to return to him.

/*\

Lilythae hurried down the hallway, shoving hair out of her face. She should've thought to put her hair back – she looked a mess – but she could do that once she'd reached her room. As long as she kept her head down and stayed out of sight she'd be fine.

Rumors, now of all times, would not do her any favors. She'd left his bedroom looking this way, and anyone who saw could have the potential to make her life hell.

She made it through the temple with no incident, and searched her dresser and few drawers. Nothing. She knew that Illidan still had her hair ornaments, but she could've sworn she had spares.

Apparently not.

She growled to herself and plopped down on her bed, briefly curling up in her blankets. She had been stupid. She shouldn't have let him kiss her. At the same time, it wasn't exactly unpleasant to feel wanted. Illidans' persistence was as flattering as it was weakening her resolve.

An entire year, and still he seemed to desire her. He treated her uncertainty not with anger or annoyance but rather gentle understanding. Almost as though he was frightened of making it worse and scaring her off completely. Coming from him that meant something.

Illidan could be a little bit like a spoiled child. He was impatient and insistent. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted it. He could have very little consideration for others, and there were days when he'd waste the time away on his concubines and do nothing of any importance. But then those were the days when the Black Temple and their positions in Mardum were undoubtedly secure.

Though she didn't agree with his choices all the time, and she had never felt truly safe with him, Lilythae wanted to think that he was trustworthy. In spite of his occasional brashness, there was good in him. She firmly believed that, and as she forced herself to get back up and summon her allies she also realized something important.

There was a part of her that very much wanted to pursue what Lord Illidan had offered her. She was lonely, and afraid, and exceedingly sad, and even if that offer only extended a mere few moments of passion that would be fine. She just wanted to remember what it was like to feel something other than pain.

However a sliver of magic, just enough to catch her notice, would flutter around her heart each time the thought crossed her mind. It was something she'd stowed away deep inside her, and the only thing that the fel in her body hadn't tainted. It would thrum softly in her chest, quietly begging her not to act on her idle thoughts, and she never failed to listen.

In spite of everything that had happened, _he_ still wasn't ready for her to move on. But then she doubted his spirit was aware of what she'd done to herself. She wondered if he knew that she'd become something a little less than elf, and she wondered what he'd say to her if she actually took the chance and ventured into the Emerald Dream to speak with his soul like she'd wanted to for so long.

She didn't think she could bear it if he looked upon her with disgust.

/*\

Feyly was anxiously awaiting Lilythae's arrival at the Den. She was scared.

Just hours ago it happened. The Den had gone almost completely silent, the women forgetting their discussions when she came whooshing from the doors out of her private chamber. They hadn't actually seen this woman in weeks, and her presence in the public areas could only mean trouble. When Kalyne actually went in pursuit of Illidan herself the night elf knew.

Feyly had suspected there was something wrong with Kalyne for a long, long time. From the first moment she'd met her, in fact. Feyly was tempted to go and speak with Lord Illidan on her own, to explain to him her worries, but it would be far too conspicuous if she were to do that. Kalyne would take notice, and the night elf wouldn't survive to see the next morning.

From the corner of her eye she caught sight of straight blond hair and emerald-studded ears. Marhail was walking along with a guard in tow, assigned to her personally since the night of the attack. She was casually strolling along, before she caught Feyly's eye. Quickly the night elf looked away.

Marhail had lied. Lord Illidan had specifically told Feyly that Marhail would be tending to Lily in the bath and she'd lied to the other concubines about it. She had gone out of her way to protect Lily. In a place like the Den, it was a magnanimous act of kindness. By protecting Lilythae, Marhail may have even acted against her own interests.

That, or Marhail was just smart enough to realize that if anyone were to sabotage Lieutenant Bloodbringer right now they'd lose Mardum and perhaps the temple as well. Feyly suspected she wasn't the only one aware of Kalyne's…quirks.

Either way, she was Feyly's best chance at an ally. In spite of being something of a novelty to the others, Lord Illidan wasn't all that impressed by the prospect of a female night elf. Especially given her area of training. So she steeled herself, and tried to think of a good way to get Marhail alone.

/*\

He had never expected that he'd end up stuck like this in the Emerald Dream.

But then, sometimes souls who had unfinished business couldn't move on to the realm of Elune. Not just yet. He was one such soul, and until the dream got the right visitor he could do nothing about it. He was trapped on the lower levels of the dream, the places where the living could venture.

He lazily aimed his bow at a rabbit, and the arrowhead tore through the fragile creature before it completely vanished. He knew the arrow would rematerialize back into his quiver. There was no point in killing the creatures in the dream. They weren't exactly real, and he was dead. He didn't need to eat or anything like that. But in life he had been a hunter, and that seemed to be the only thing he could really do here. There were almost no signs of sentient life.

As the name suggested, the Emerald Dream was filled with greenery. Trees and brush and grass, all the same shade. His very sight was tinged viridian, and though it mimicked the layout of Azeroth, he wasn't sure where he was now. He'd spent so much time wandering, that he'd completely lost track of the geography. The towns and cities didn't appear the same, and he had no perception of the living.

That being said, he would occasionally happen upon others. Druids in training were the most common sight, that or other lost souls like himself, but always they ignored him or tried to chase him away. His actions in life had led him to become exiled from night elf society, and it was no different in death. Somehow everyone knew what he'd done, and he was not welcome in the tiny pockets of civilization within the Dream. Perhaps Elune would forgive him when it was time, but for now he still faced the consequences of his actions.

This was the state of his existence. He could see what she did via the miniscule amount of mana he had left in the living world, but the sight was far from perfect. He knew that she was alive and well. She was spending her time waging war against the demons, and she had joined some kind of military, but that was it. He wasn't sure whose leadership she followed, or even if she used magic anymore. He could sense her emotions, but only the ones that threatened his link to her.

He knew that she desired intimacy and connection again. He knew it was unfair to deny her that. But he couldn't let her go just yet. He needed to speak with her. He needed to know what had happened.

Only then would they both be able to move on.

/*\

Kalyne listened as the little imp gave her his report, and only when it left did she let her anger loose.

In no time at all, the room was a mess. Blue mana swirled angrily, tattering the curtains and breaking her bed. Runes materialized in the air as rugs were shredded by the broken glass and red wine stained the fabrics. Energy flared as splinters from bookshelves and tables littered the floor, and all she could smell as she panted was the blood she'd spilled on a piece of metal.

She hissed at the pain in her hand, and quickly found a scrap of cloth to bind the wound. She muttered a spell and her mana lashed out once more, but this time it lacked malice. Once it was finished, it was like nothing had happened.

Everything had been restored. Her clothes had returned to the dressers, the furniture had reformed. Glass bottles and vials sat haphazardly on the desks and the wine stains vanished. Not a thing appeared amiss. Her bed was perfectly made, and not even a speck of dust remained on the floor. Her little episode was nonexistent.

The consort sat on her bed, trying to figure out what to do. Though she'd have liked too, she couldn't kill this girl. Lord Illidan had yet to catch Kalyne, and she didn't want this – the thing that mattered most – to be her undoing.

Lilythae was powerful. Damn near as powerful as Lord Illidan himself. She had been a mage of one of the highest calibers, and her power had only increased with the fel energy that now ran through her veins. Kalyne Spellbinder was no match for Lilythae Bloodbringer, even in spite of the fact that the lieutenant didn't even use her magic half the time. Even if she could, killing Lilythae meant ruin for the temple. If Mardum fell then so did they. Kalyne couldn't just eliminate this one. She would have to be sneaky

But then Kalyne was normally very good at being sneaky. It was obvious at this point that Lord Illidan favored the soldier, and he still pursued her in spite of her rebuttals. The only reason that Kalyne thought he'd do that was because she didn't just reject him. She rejected everyone. She was a challenge where most of the others would put out in an instant. If word got around that Lilythae accepted a different partner….

It would be all over. Kalyne would have nothing to worry about. She wouldn't get demoted to just plain consort. She'd get to keep her private study, her books, and her chamber. She would get to continue her work as a mage, keep her finery, and remain at the top of the pyramid. All would be well. In fact, a plan was already forming in her mind.

The women of the Den would do what she said no questions asked, and Lilythae would not be able to recover from this. Even if they found out it wasn't her fault, she'd still be branded weak for succumbing. Though no one would believe that she'd lay with just any man or woman, Kalyne had someone in mind.

After all, the lieutenant _was_ rather close with that night elf.

/*\

Marhail was quick, but not quick enough.

At the first opportunity she'd dragged Feyly to her private room, but she feared the damage had already been done. Kalyne had made her move, and Marhail hadn't prepared accordingly. She'd assumed that the "favorite" would try to interrogate Marhail first. She had never liked sharing Lord Illidan's attention, but she accepted that it was something she had to put up with. She would go for any excuse to threaten or belittle another one of the women.

But that wasn't what happened. She'd gone and done the investigating herself, returned to the Den, and locked herself up in her room. She was plotting something, and by the time Marhail figured out what it was there was nothing she could do about it.

People had always thought that the reason Lilythae was so stingy with her affections was because she was already committed to someone. Who was the person she spent the most time with? A concubine. Someone that everyone knew. There had always been suppositions that the two had been sleeping together but no one took it seriously. Always Feyly denied it, a disappointed look crossing her face as she described Lilythae's rejection again and again. She'd have no reason to lie about something like that. But Kalyne wasn't as sly as she thought she was. She needed cooperation from other people to put her little scheme into action, and it had only been a matter of time before Marhail found out.

Right at this moment, Marhail was just concerned with keeping the frightened night elf alive and out of sight until she could tamper with Kalyne's plan. Chances were she wouldn't get to talk to Illidan about this until it was too late, so she had to take matters into her own hands. She couldn't just hide Feyly in her room forever, she knew that, but she could keep her for an hour or two before people began to notice.

Marhail remembered the look on Illidan's face in the spring. It had been one of the most violent expressions she'd ever seen the man exhibit. While he didn't often show that violence outside of battle or executions, she knew he would not be afraid to kill the woman if it meant he could have what he wanted. Marhail knew that Kalyne was hoping this would hurt Illidan, and he would begin to ignore the lieutenant. Maybe she even hoped he'd kill Lilythae after their sought-after success in Mardum. If she'd actually paid attention when Lord Illidan had been regaling the group with the tale of his lost love, she'd know that her plan was folly.

She hadn't put Lilythae in the line of fire. If anything, he'd probably want her more. Instead, she was going to get Feyly killed.

/*\

After the briefing, Lilythae made her way to the Den. She was exhausted, frustrated, and she just wanted to sleep and maybe talk to Feyly. It was something of a routine, and it was something she rather looked forward to at the end of each day.

As usual, there were women walking around with plates. Some contained exotic dishes, sweet and savory aromas wafting in the air. Others held glasses of wine, some of which looked rather appealing in her current state of distress, but Lilythae wanted something else.

She caught sight of a woman carrying a tray of dry tea over to the kitchens, and the lieutenant was quick to catch her attention.

"What sorts of tea do you have there?" She inquired.

"Well," the concubine answered, pointing to different displays of leaves, "there's some basic plain black and green teas, dragonleaf, goldthorn, ginseng, and some new thing that's infused with," the consort paused, "I want to say it's foxflower?"

"Hmm," Lilythae mused, "we haven't gotten anything new in a while. Fetch me a pot of that please?"

"Certainly lieutenant." And with that the consort bowed, and disappeared behind the kitchen doors. Lilythae in turn slinked around men and women, making her way back to her preferred corner. She picked out a book from the shelves sitting next to her chaise, and curled up into the soft pillows. Sheer curtains protected the space from the outside world, giving a faint illusion of privacy. No one paid her any mind and it was almost as though she were invisible, in another dimension. She spied a blanket hanging on the back of her seat. She momentarily toyed with the idea of using it, and after a careful inspection of its cleanliness she pulled it up over her lap. She had just gotten comfortable when the consort appeared.

"Your tea, lieutenant." She stated, placing a tray on the table by the chaise. "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"Not right at this moment. Thank you." And with that the concubine left, to go attend to someone else's wants and needs. Lilythae picked up the cup and sniffed at the liquid. It was certainly an aromatic tea, not unpleasant in the slightest.

But it didn't smell of foxflower.

 _Well,_ Lilythae thought to herself, _she did sound a little unsure._ But as someone who was once an herbalist the scent made her uneasy. She couldn't identify it, and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising. Her brows furrowed and a frown befell her face.

 _What the hell is wrong with me?_ She inwardly snarled. _They wouldn't be serving anything dangerous here, it's the Den! You've just had a long day. Drink the damn tea. Read the book. Anything other than this nonsense._

So hesitantly, Lilythae forced herself to take a tiny sip. It tasted nice, warm and sweet and flowery, but still she waited a few more moments. It didn't seem to be having any adverse effects, so she took another sip. It was fine.

 _See?_ She thought. _You're paranoid Lilythae. Relax and get some sleep, it'll do you good. You're just on edge from the attack yesterday._ But still her mind was racing, and she couldn't focus on her reading. So she discarded the book, placing it on the table, and settled into the chaise. She let her eyes slide shut and breathed in, smelling tea and candles and books. The others could have their playtime with the consorts. She just wanted to nap.

/*\

Illidan knew the moment he smelled it, and he found himself puzzled. He'd paid a visit to the Den, to use the baths again. And at Kalyne's request he'd brought her along. She walked silently behind him, carrying the supplies. Most likely a small smile decorated her face, happy now that he'd finally chosen to pay her a little bit of attention.

That was when he noticed the smell.

For some reason one of the consorts was carrying around a pot of moonflower tea. He stopped her to inquire about it, but she stared at him blankly.

"I-I'm sorry my lord." She stated. "But I'm not sure what you're talking about. This was something the scouts brought back after the most recent scouting mission."

"Did it have a label?" He asked. The girl shook her head. "Be careful with that. It's a strong aphrodisiac. Too much will kill you." For a brief moment the girl looked alarmed.

"What?!" She squeaked. "Er, I mean," she stumbled over her words a moment before Kalyne shot her a hard look. "I'll be sure to remember that, my lord."

"See that you do. I don't want any more of my men and women dying, especially over something as trivial as pleasure." He growled. Quickly the consort nodded and scampered away, to deliver the tea no doubt.

"Moonflower tea?" Kalyne questioned softly from her place behind him.

"Several thousand years ago," Illidan said, once again moving through the hall, "the night elves cultivated moonflower. It was difficult to grow, and used strictly for ceremonies. It was only meant to be used during the first night of a honeymoon. Then we figured out that it was deadly. I assumed the practice had died out." He explained simply.

That was when Illidan, out of the corner of his eye, saw Lilythae. She was sitting on a chaise sipping tea, and from a very familiar looking pot.

/*\

When Lilythae woke she could feel the heat rising off her body. She lifted a hand to her face and found herself feverish. That alone was enough to raise alarm. Demon hunters didn't get sick. The fel in their bodies protected against most diseases in Azeroth and Outland. Her eyes opened and she found that she was no longer in the Den.

For a second she wasn't sure where she was, and panic spiked through her heart. Her vision was blurry, but she thought she might be in her room. It was a tiny space, and she blinked several times. Her vision had cleared some and she looked around, searching for any sign of danger. She was indeed in her room, her battle plans were scattered along her desk. She stood up and looked around. She definitely hadn't been taken prisoner, but surely she'd have noticed if someone had moved her. Discomfort welled up in her lower abdomen, and the cool air did nothing for her temperature.

It didn't help that she almost thought she heard a voice calling for her in the back of her mind.

She sat back down on her bed, bewildered. She laid back down and groaned.

 _Maybe I shouldn't have drunk the tea after all. I_ knew _there was something wrong with it!_ She thought.

"I see you're awake now."

Lilythae sprung up, ready to fight.

/*\

He'd acted fast. He'd walked a little further, pretended not to notice her, and then summoned one of the guards. The man nodded, strode away, and Kalyne had been quick to comment.

"What was that all about, my lord?" She innocently inquired.

"One of the demons were acting funny." He smoothly replied. "I sent him to eliminate it."

"Good." She muttered. "Misbehaving demons are the last thing we need."

Illidan didn't respond. Instead he let Kalyne accompany him down to the spring, and he let her bathe him. He let her touch him.

He wasn't exactly excited by the fact that she massaged his shoulders, nor did he care that she trailed her fingers down his chest. She gently traced the green runes, but still he did not respond. He did not return her gestures, in spite of the fact that he knew it was what she wanted. Finally she stopped, and leaned in close to his ear.

"Do I bore you now?" She asked.

"Of course not." He responded automatically. "If you bored me, I wouldn't have brought you down here." But it was very obvious that Kalyne didn't believe him. She was slow to put her hands back on him, and when she did her touch was hesitant.

"Alright." She answered. Inwardly Illidan sighed. In truth she did bore him. Greatly. But for now it remained in his interests to keep her happy. In the beginning she had been tantalizing for the sole purpose that she had been powerful. She still wielded a fair amount of mana, and she was incredibly smart. But Illidan watched her. He'd always watched her. The longer and longer she stayed in Shadowmoon, the more and more her mind strayed. He had seen it before, and he was certain that as long as the Illidari existed he'd see it several thousand times again. It was the only reason he found himself reluctant to just kill her and be done with it, because he knew it wasn't entirely her fault.

"I'm sorry, Kalyne." He said. "I'm just tired. The attack yesterday left me feeling drained." To this her face almost seemed to brighten.

"I understand, my lord. Just relax."

/*\

A familiar face stared down at her, hard and unyielding. Though he didn't appear quite as revolted as she feared he would be, he didn't exactly look all that delighted to see her. The scenery had changed too. No longer was she sitting in her bedroom in the Black Temple. Instead was standing in the middle of a pristine forest. The trees seemed to almost glow beneath the natural light. She could hear birds singing and a river flowing somewhere. From the corner of her eye she thought she saw a stag, but as much as she'd have liked to take in her surroundings she didn't dare to look away from the man who stood before her.

"Orion." She whispered.

"Lily." He answered. "I wasn't expecting to find you this way." He'd been holding his bow, an arrow notched. It looked as though he hadn't initially recognized her, and had been prepared to eliminate the demon hunter that had infiltrated the Dream. Now he slung his weapon back over his shoulder, and for a moment Lilythae felt uneasy.

He looked exactly the same. His hair hung long and green down his shoulders, the shade of the trees in Ashenvale. His eyes glowed the prettiest shade of silver, framed by an articulate blue face that once kissed her to sleep night after night. His armor was the exact same set he'd been wearing the day he'd come home, the day that Hallis followed him to their house.

The only thing missing was the blood.

Now he made no expressions. He studied her, as though trying to determine just what, exactly, he should do about this.

"So this is what became of you." He murmured. "You threw away your life, to become one of the Betrayer's puppets."

"He offered me a chance." Lilythae immediately bit back. "What happened in the aftermath, there was a part of me that was glad you died so you didn't have to see it." Immediately his eyes flickered to her face.

"Then tell me Lilythae, what happened?"

"I just finished burying you." She said. "I left Marina with a gnomish mage."

"Where is Marina now?" He interrupted. "Did Illidan let you keep her, even as you are?" He paused, and a horrified look crossed his face. "You didn't do _this_ to her, did you?!"

"For Light's sake Orion, shut up!" She shrieked. "Marina is gone!" He froze.

"What do you mean, 'Marina is gone'?"

"I mean she's gone." Lilythae spat. "They wouldn't permit me to bring her to the funeral, your family. It was no place for a baby. It was just near the end that _they_ showed up. Demons." She stopped.

"Then what happened?" He prompted, but Lilythae shook her head and turned away from him. She leaned against a tree and stared hard at the ground.

This was not what she imagined her reuniting with Orion would look like.

Come to think of it, how had she ended up in the Dream in the first place? She asked him. He walked up to her and lightly touched her shoulder.

"The mark let me see you, sort of." He stated. His hand fell away and he gestured to her horns. "Plainly I didn't see everything, but I could see that someone had poisoned you." She turned, brows furrowing.

"Poisoned? How?"

"I don't know, but I knew your soul was coming loose. I pulled you into the Dream before your body completely shut down. For a second I thought I'd been tricked, and that I'd accidentally pulled an enemy." He murmured. "If someone finds you soon enough, they'll be able to revive you. You're not dead just yet."

"So it was you I heard, calling my name." It wasn't a question.

"It was." He tilted his head, and cautiously stepped a little closer. She didn't move away from him, and he caught her fingers in his hand. She could feel the familiar callouses on her skin, the warmth from his body. It was almost like he wasn't dead. Just for a second, she could pretend it had all been a bad dream.

He broke the illusion soon enough.

"Please continue." He said. "I need to know what happened."

"The demons killed Marina." She whispered. "I'd been just a second too late. The gnome was dead, slaughtered where she stood, and there was a succubus standing over the bassinet–"

"Lilythae." A different voice rang out. She jumped and whirled, looking for the speaker but saw no one. She knew the voice. It was a voice she'd just been conversing with that afternoon. "Lilythae, come back. It's not yet your time to die."

And just like that everything vanished. Orion's fingers fell from her hand, and the greenery was gone. Immediately her eyes shot open and she gasped, staring up at Lord Illidan. One of the healers held a damp rag on her face, and her master looked to be concentrating very hard. Magic – not her own – swirled around her body, and she could faintly feel Orion fighting and losing against Illidan's power.

"W-what…?!" she trailed off. Illidan looked down at her.

"You're alive. Good." Then he made an odd face, and touched her cheek. "Why are you crying?"

 **/*\**

 **Longest chapter yet, and still I feel that hardly anything happened.**

 **-Statyck**


	5. Chapter 5

**Holy shit. This story has over a thousand views. ONE THOUSAND FRIKKIN VIEWS! Thank you so much! :D**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

His fingers stroked her flesh, and his body offered warmth in the chilly night air. She could feel his teeth grazing her skin, and his tongue lightly flicked out over it. The shudder was automatic and she couldn't help but to arch her back and roll her hips. He hissed in approval and returned the gesture, rocking himself into her petite body.

"Ah!" She squeaked, hooking her leg around his hip. "Like that!" She commanded, nails digging into his arms. Quickly he pulled away and yanked on her wrist, flipping her over. He pushed her face down on the bed and held both her hands behind her back. In spite of his brashness, he was very careful not to hurt her. He leaned down and nipped her pointed ear, gently reprimanding her.

"You're not the one who gives commands here, Lily." He breathed, and Lilythae could faintly make out his angular lilac face from the corner of her eye. He'd taken off the blindfold, and permitted her to undo his hair. Black locks fell over glowing green orbs as he looked at her. His lips were slightly parted, taking in air just as quickly as she was. He stared at her with feigned indifference, but she wasn't fooled.

He was as hungry for her as she was for him. The only thing prolonging their separation was his desire for her submission, and how direly he wanted it.

He wasn't going to get it that easily.

Quickly she bucked up, letting her power flare. He jumped back onto the floor, a grin on his face. He chuckled and crouched down, ready to play along and fight back. He pounced just as the fantasy ended.

She groaned and opened her eyes. Lord Illidan had explained what happened to her, about the strange tea and its properties. It shouldn't have been enough to actually kill her, but the side effects were damn near worse. She looked around her room, finding that she was alone. The room itself had been warded under her master's instruction, and she had been permitted to have the rest of the day to herself. She had been too feverish to do anything, and just wanted to sleep.

Right now she felt as though she'd rested enough.

It would be nothing, to go to the Den and let someone have her attention. Hell, Feyly practically begged for it on occasion. At the same time she didn't want to let a drug rule her actions. Lilythae was as angry as she was uncomfortable, and she'd have gone out long ago to kill some demons and blow off some steam if it hadn't been for the fact that she'd almost died.

She sat up and swiftly removed the scratchy linen nightgown, throwing it on the floor. She should've at least put it back in the wardrobe, but she was aggravated. She threw herself back down on the bed and pulled up the blankets. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her legs together, trying to erase some of the tension. She stared up at the ceiling, and a thought as humiliating as it was appealing crossed her mind.

There were ways to solve this problem without ever letting someone else touch her.

/*\

Lord Illidan felt as infuriated as he felt smug. He was pissed, certainly, that Kalyne had taken a shot at his lieutenant. Though there was nothing to link her to the crime just yet, she'd be the only one brave enough to try. Lilythae had almost died and while he would have taken the loss a little more personally than he should, it would also mean that there would be no one to lead the attack on Mardum. Sure, he could have found a last-minute replacement, but with the mission being so close?

It could go so badly if Lilythae were to suddenly be wrenched from the equation. So he'd seen to her himself. He wasn't an expert on healing magic, as a sorcerer he'd never learned much about it, but the resident healer hadn't been powerful enough to drag her soul back from the Emerald Dream on his own. He had no idea as to why her spirit had ended up there, of all places, but the healer had needed help. Lord Illidan had permitted the young man to use his power to amplify his talents, and it had brought Lilythae back.

During the ritual, however, Illidan could feel his magic working its way around her body. He could feel her own power mingling with his, and he could also feel something else. Magic, belonging to no one he knew, had tried to repel him. It had been so frail, so _weak_ , that he'd have missed it entirely if not for its persistence. After several moments he recognized what was happening, and found himself as surprised as he was puzzled.

Even for the dead, it seemed this man was relatively powerless. That or Illidan had gained so much power that he'd entirely forgotten what was normal, but he didn't think so. The mana was positively miniscule. It struck him as odd, that Lilythae would have been mated to something so feeble.

He had seen this before, on his lovely Marhail. Her deceased mate had tried desperately to defend her from him, but upon realizing that he had no intention of severing the bond between the living woman and the spirit it stopped. It remained within Marhail, dormant, but if he looked at her at just the right angle, the foreign mana remained.

This had to be Lilythae's problem. Her mate on the other side was restless, he didn't want her to create any other connections just yet.

But if her soul had been momentarily trapped in the Dream, then that meant she'd spoken to him. If he'd remained, it meant he wanted to see her one last time. That should have sated the spirit enough that it could move on.

She might be willing to have him now.

He couldn't decide if the thought made him happy or disappointed. He stood up and cast a spell, teleporting to her room.

/*\

Marhail buried her face into her pillow and screamed. She hadn't meant for any of this to happen.

She didn't think the sleeping aid would do any harm. She knew that Kalyne was going to drug Lilythae, in the hopes that she'd actually go off and fuck one of the consorts. Marhail was hoping to ensure that Lilythae would sleep for several hours and wake up once any strange effects would have worn off.

Instead it had reacted badly and almost killed her. She didn't know if it had been the sleeping aid, or the tea, or just the way Lilythae's body had processed the combination but she'd almost died. Marhail was nearly in tears.

If Lord Illidan found out it was her fault, and it was more than likely he would, then she was done for.

She'd only wanted to help.

There was knocking on her door, and she whirled. Quickly she wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. No one could know about this. She padded her way to the door and opened it up. The sight on the other side nearly took her breath away, and not for any good reason.

"Hello Marhail." Kor'lei said, leaning casually in the doorway. "You and I need to have a little chat."

/*\

Lilythae couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so utterly mortified. She had no idea how long he'd been there, but the look on his face told her everything she needed to know. She'd been done for several minutes, basking in the afterglow, before she noticed him. Her shriek of terror and surprise had jolted her off the bed. Her blankets fell from her body, and though she was half nude on a regular basis she couldn't help but to feel as violated as she was indignant.

She stood up, and glared at the man in the corner with as much dignity as she could muster. She wasn't sure how much Lord Illidan had actually seen, but he did not look upset in the slightest. A small smile crept its way over his lips, and his arms were crossed as he leaned against the wall. She couldn't tell if he was actually aroused, due to the layers of fur around his hips, but it wasn't a thought worth entertaining anyways.

Lord Illidan walked towards her, his hooves clicking softly on the stone floor with each step. His arms fell to his sides as he approached her, getting entirely too close. She stiffened as he circled her, in the manner of a panther stalking prey, letting his index finger caress the small of her back. As he lowered his head she could feel one of his horns graze her cheek, and his voice rang out in the darkness.

"Just what were you doing, lieutenant?" He asked, a hint of amusement tinging his tone.

"Something tells me you already know." She growled, unwilling to give him the satisfaction. He clicked his tongue.

"How dull." He complained, snaking his arm around her waist. "You should play along. It can be fun."

"I think it would be more fun," she said, "if your desired partner knew you were in the room beforehand." He chuckled, but did not loosen his hold.

"Fair enough. It wasn't my intention to walk in on something so…intimate. But surely you understand why I couldn't just leave?"

"If you had been anyone else, Lord Illidan, I'd have killed you." She deadpanned. His laugh felt obnoxious in her ears.

"Is that so?" He teased. "You must like me then, if I suffer none of your wrath for the intrusion."

"Do you want to suffer my wrath, my lord?" She bit out. A single hand rose up and stroked her cheek.

"It doesn't matter to me." He said. "We've already determined that you can't win a fight with me." She stiffened, and his arm tightened.

"What did you want, my lord?" She asked. Very gently he nuzzled her neck.

"I wished to speak with you." He answered simply. He lifted his other hand and let it rest on her shoulder, searching. Then it stilled. "Intimacy with another will not disrupt the connection created by this."

/*\

When Illidan landed in the bedroom he wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly hadn't been this. Though the enchanted blankets hid her from view, it was obvious what she was doing. The effects of moonflower were just as powerful as he'd heard. Though she had abstained from taking a partner, the drug had worked its way through her body. She writhed beneath the covers, her hips rolling and her breath heavy. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and his magic had been silent. As long as he didn't move, he'd get to enjoy the spectacle. What little he could see anyways.

She had slipped a finger between her teeth, trying to keep from being too loud as her other hand worked to sate the need, but it did nothing. Her breathing, her gasps, her mewls, he could hear each as loudly and as perfectly as though she'd been making the noises in his ear. For a moment he toyed with the idea of stripping down and pulling the blanket off, but quickly discarded it. That would be rude. So he settled with watching. He wished he could see more.

He could see it when her body froze in a single moment of ecstasy, and he could hear her breathy moan as she held the position. She sank down into her bed, satisfied, and let herself rest.

Finally she took notice of him, and thankfully she wore almost nothing. Her nightgown was on the floor and she stood before him with a horrified look on her face. Her curving tattoos swirled beneath her brassiere and though he was familiar with the design of the full runes, he couldn't help but ponder what they would look like on her body.

He teased her, but she wasn't interested in playing with him. She left him no choice but to get to the point, so he did. He informed her of the after-death rules for mating marks, and that she would not be separated from her mate if she were to lay with him. He assured her that only something very specific would sever the bond, and that he wouldn't ever do such a thing without her consent.

She did not push him away, but she did not relent either. But then, what else was new?

"That's awfully convenient, my lord." She said. He grimaced. He had yet to lie to her, and still she treated his words with suspicion.

"Perhaps." He answered carefully. "But you can just ask Marhail. She can verify the truth of my statement." To this Lilythae fell silent.

"She showed me her mark." The woman stated. "I assumed her lover had moved on to the inner depths of the Emerald Dream. Do you mean to tell me that her mate stays with her?"

"Indeed. The magic lays dormant but as long as no one else marks her the mana will remain, sustained by the spirit."

Lilythae turned and glanced up at him. He watched a thoughtful look pass across her face, and her brows furrowed. Her mouth curved into a frown and her gaze lowered. No longer was she flustered by his presence. She had relaxed, her body melding perfectly to his.

 _It would be so easy,_ he thought to himself, _to just push her onto the bed and take her right now._

She turned in his grip, and reached up for him. She stood up on the tips of her toes and placed a soft kiss onto his neck. He wrapped his other arm around her. Her chest, though small, pressed into his skin, and he could feel the smooth plain of her stomach nestled against his own.

 _Wait._ He wondered. _Is she really…?_

"No." She said. "What I told you this morning stands. I am attracted to you, my lord, but I will not sleep with you." And with that she turned around, walked up to her armoire, and began to put on a set of leather robes.

/*\

Kalyne was as surprised as she was elated. Lord Illidan had come to her chamber and not a word had been spoken before he strode up to her, his hooves echoing loudly in the room, and threw her on her bed. His lips crashed against her own, and he was quick to disrobe her. She could hear the silk of her top ripping before being tossed away somewhere, and the heavy gold collar she routinely wore was torn away.

"Good evening to you too." She giggled as soon as his mouth made its way to her neck. He only grunted, and slipped his hand beneath her skirts.

Lord Illidan was not a vocal person by nature. He took tall, dark, and mysterious to a whole new level, but that was okay. As he reached for the sensitive nub between her legs, Kalyne found herself feeling a tad unsettled.

Illidan was rarely gentle, with any of them, but now he seemed almost angry and it came through. As he climbed atop her and demanded she service him, Kalyne was surprised to find herself reluctant. Instead of pleasurable, his touches had almost hurt. But she did as he asked anyways, even if she was slow. Her wide fel eyes stared up at him, almost wanting to ask what was wrong, but she didn't want to risk angering him any further. Whatever had happened, he needed comfort. Or an outlet. Most likely the latter. Disappointment welled up in her chest.

This was the first he'd touched her in weeks, and it would be one of _those_ nights.

Kalyne tugged at the leather drawstrings on his pants. She loosened the clothing enough that she could reach in and pull him out. She was quick to begin stroking him, but it didn't seem to be enough. He looked down at her.

"Open your mouth." He breathed. Her lips had barely parted before he thrust his full length down her throat. Kalyne's eyes welled up with tears as her lord's hands knotted in her hair. His thrusts were slow at first, his eyes closing as he groaned in pleasure. Kalyne knew that he was taking the time to revel in the heat of her mouth, but she was almost inclined to bite down.

Lord Illidan wasn't exactly a kind lover. He wasn't usually this rough either.

That being said, it had been a while since he'd shown this kind of enthusiasm in bed. His thrusts became shallower and faster, and she could feel his talons lightly grazing her scalp. Finally he pulled away, and Kalyne fell back onto the bed panting heavily. What was wrong with him tonight? She didn't get the chance to ask before he shoved her legs apart and ripped away the thin cloth of her panties.

For a moment, she found herself just as afraid as the first time he bedded her.

/*\

Feyly was worried sick. Word had spread quickly that someone had hurt Lily, and as much as the night elf would have liked to go check on her she didn't want to get mixed up in the terrible situation. Marhail had spoken so fast that Feyly had some trouble comprehending the other woman's words, but she understood the basics.

Kalyne had drugged Lily, with some weird tea that would make her – to the point – horny. In letting Marhail stay with her in the springs Lord Illidan may as well have announced to the entire temple that Lilythae was special, on a white silk banner and in bright red lettering. People were assuming that Lilythae was now the highest ranking official next to only Illidan himself, and the longer and longer things went on the more true that seemed to be.

When the guard had come running back into the hall to report to Illidan, he'd been fast to go to her aid. Apparently the healer said that without help he wouldn't be able to save the lieutenant. Illidan could have easily gone and ordered someone else to lend the healer their magic, but he'd attended to the matter personally.

As much as Feyly might have liked to help Lily with any "issues" she might have in wake of the poisoning, she really didn't want to die. Lord Illidan would not appreciate it if Lily were to receive any type of attention from someone else, even if it was unrequited.

These were the thoughts that passed through her mind as Marhail finished her rant, shooing her out of the woman's private chamber. Feyly walked towards the door, slightly dazed, when Marhail grabbed her arm. Stealing Feyly's attention one last time she earnestly whispered,

"Whatever you do, act natural. Don't go to Lilythae's room. Wait for her to return to the Den."

"What if she doesn't return to the Den?" The night elf quickly answered back.

"Then leave it be." Marhail was almost begging her. "Keep your head low. If we want to keep the lieutenant alive, then we have to remain as inconspicuous as possible." And with that, the blood elf shut her door and Feyly was left to her own devices. She was trying to decide what to do to pass the time when one of the demon hunters, another night elf named Rayne, approached her.

"Hello Feyly," he said, his baritone voice echoing with demonic energy, "do you think I could steal an hour or two of your time?"

Well, Rayne would certainly be something to do.

/*\

Kor'lei let herself in without even waiting for Marhail to reply, a large white saber following the woman closely. Behind the cat were Mirveda and Helia. With the exception of Kalyne and the now-dead Tael, Lord Illidan's harem was entirely gathered.

"I won't beat around the bush." Kor'lei said, pushing her long dark hair over her shoulder. "Why did you thwart Kalyne?" She asked, staring at Marhail intently. The blond girl couldn't help but notice that Mirveda and Helia were careful to stand between her and the door.

"Because if she creates any kind of instability within the Temple right now, it could cost us everything." Marhail answered.

"How do you figure?" The huntress answered, idly picking a berry from a bowl on the table. "It is not as though Kalyne was going to kill the lieutenant, just encourage the more primal side of her nature."

"Illidan favors her." Marhail started. "Even something as simple as that might set him off. If he becomes upset with her or shuns her, then we may end up compromising her in Mardum. If Lilythae loses that battle, then we're all screwed regardless of whether or not we're Lord Illidan's favorites." Kor'lei looked at her for a long moment before sighing.

"Our lord is…immature on occasion." She admitted. She looked as though she was preparing to say something else when another voice intervened.

"Cut the bullshit Kor'lei." Helia stated. Marhail turned to see that the paladin was actually holding a large hammer in both her hands. It looked very out of place against the skimpy silks and flimsy chains that adorned her body. "We all know that Illidan is unstable, Kalyne even more so. The drug backfired. Bad. We cannot allow her _or_ him to jeopardize us." Helia quickly ran a hand through her crimson hair, nearly displacing the large jeweled headband perched perilously on her head.

"I agree." Mirveda pitched in, leaning on her staff. "I won't lie and say I'm not jealous of Lilythae, but the reason we're here is because we wish to see the destruction of the demons. The moment we lose sight of that and encourage conflict among ourselves is the moment we crumble."

"Indeed." Kor'lei conceded, running her fingers through her pet cat's fur. "We need to keep Kalyne away from Lieutenant Bloodbringer. And we need Illidan to remain focused on the task at hand. We must do our best to keep them separated until after Mardum. Then we can deal with the repercussions of our actions."

/*\

Lilythae expanded her wings and let herself glide down the hill, further and further away from the temple.

Someone had actually tried to kill her. She'd reunited with Orion in the Emerald Dream even if for just a moment. His horror hurt her deeply, and then upon waking she was faced with the reality of having been poisoned with a fucking _aphrodisiac_ of all things. Needless to say, Lilythae was pissed.

But if she went looking for the person who did it, she could very well be digging herself deeper into the hole she'd inadvertently been thrown into. She suspected it was one of Illidan's consorts – she even had a name in mind – but it would do her no good to confront the mage. It would cause too many issues within the temple, and with Mardum only four days away she couldn't afford to destabilize the fortress in any way.

So this seemed like a good alternative. She had pretty much entirely recovered from the effects of the tea and, even if Lord Illidan's… _arrival_ had been a little off-putting and frankly creepy, she felt better than ever. Demons fell beneath her glaives with ease, and though she had no way of binding her hair she found that the locks in her face didn't obstruct her vision in any way.

She had been fortunate enough to retain her eyesight, but she could also utilize the spectral sight that every other blind demon hunter had. Green silhouettes could run, but they couldn't hide and she didn't even let them try.

Illidan's arrogance had pissed her off, and she had actually toyed with the idea of attacking him anyways in spite of the fact that she had been mostly nude. She didn't care that he was the Lord of Outland or that he was a sexy beast, she was still his lieutenant. She was a soldier, a military general, not a consort to be bedded at his whim. If he wanted her favor he had to earn it, and thus far he did not seem inclined to do so. He might have the others fooled into thinking he was some sort of deity, a hidden blessing of the Light to this world, but they both knew better. If he had begun to believe his own lies, that was his problem.

As Lilythae sliced through felguards and felhounds and imps and all sorts of other nasty things, she couldn't help but sigh. There was no challenge in the beasts of Shadowmoon Valley. Only thirty minutes had passed, and she'd already killed an entire hundred of the damned things. She wandered through the valley, effortlessly slaying everything in her path, when a sound caught her notice. She tilted her head to the side and listened. There it was again.

Quickly Lilythae bounded up rocks, pursuing the strange sound. The closer she got, the more familiar it became. As she rounded one final corner, she found the source.

Her heart froze.

There were three children huddled against a boulder, a draenei, a blood elf, and a night elf. All three were girls and the little draenei was injured. The night elf was trying to patch up the wound, while the blood elf…

The blood elf was bravely holding up a silver metal staff, plainly too heavy for her, against four felguards.

Lilythae made short work of the demons, and looked down at the children.

The blood elf girl shrieked in terror, the lieutenant having moved too fast for her liking probably, and pointed the staff at Lilythae. Tears streamed down the child's face, and the other two behind her looked at her in horror.

"It's okay," Lilythae tried to reassure in Thalassian. "I'm not going to hurt you–"

"NO!" The little girl wailed. "Leave us alone!" She cried, haphazardly waving the staff. Lilythae grabbed the end of it, but let the girl keep hold. She was very plainly terrified, and instead of running off she had chosen to stay behind and defend the other two. She stared up at Lilythae, petrified, as did the night elf. The draenei looked like she had passed out, and as Lilythae stared a little harder she could see a small wound near the hoof, the skin around it turning red and pock-marked.

The little girl was changing into an Eredar.

"I'm not a demon. I swear." Lilythae insisted, her voice soft. "I know I look a little strange, but I will not hurt you."

"I know!" The blood elf exclaimed, sniffing. "Papa told me about you, your kind. You're the Illid-Illir–" She stuttered, but got frustrated. "You're bad!" She shouted.

"I'm not bad." Lilythae stated calmly. "The Illidari are a little…odd, but we aren't bad. I swear. I want to help you. I will not hurt you." She repeated. The blood elf stared at her apprehensively.

"Really?"

"I promise." Lilythae said. She turned to the night elf and switched to Darnassian. "What happened to her?" Silver eyes stared at her apprehensively, but the other child nodded in approval.

"I-I don't know." The little elf stammered. "She was already injured when I found them and managed to escape. Momma taught me a little bit about healing magic, so I was trying to help." Tears began to well up in the girl's eyes. "But I can't fix it." Lilythae released the staff and approached the trio carefully. She didn't want to frighten them any further. She turned to the first child.

"Can you tell me where you escaped from?"

"Belrii and I were playing in the forest." The blood elf babbled. "We're not supposed to play together, our parents don't like each other, so it's the only place we can play! I didn't mean to get her hurt." She sobbed. The draenei moaned in her sleep.

"Hey," Lilythae reassured, "it's okay. I'll help you fix this." And she repeated the sentiment to the night elf.

"How?" Green eyes looked up at her imploringly. "What do we do?" To this, Lilythae was at a loss. She stood up and looked in the direction of the forest. It was so far away and there were so many demons. On her own she could make it there with no issue, but if she had three children in tow…

The draenei would be finished before they made it halfway through. The temple was no place for children, but there were healers there and it would be safer for them than if they were to remain out here and she had already cleared a path from the entrance.

Lilythae would take the heat from Illidan later. She was _not_ going to leave these children to fend for themselves.

The demon hunter cautiously stepped closer to the draenei, and carefully lifted the little blue girl into her arms. She opened her eyes for a split second, just as hazy and feverish as Lilythae had been not an hour ago. She murmured something in draenei, her voice ragged, and the woman quickly offered her some water and softly apologized.

"Shh," she cooed, in spite of the fact that she knew the girl couldn't understand her, "I'm sorry. I know it hurts, but we're gonna get you fixed up soon." She turned to the two elves. "Hold my hand," she instructed the blood elf, and then told the night elf to complete the chain. "Do not let go, of me or each other." She stated, once in each language. "Even when we make it to the temple stay close. We don't have other children there, so you may be something of a curious sight. Don't be frightened." The two nodded obediently, and Lilythae started the long trek back.

It was a good thing she'd decided to go hunting.

/*\

The temple was in an uproar. It didn't take long for someone to race to Kalyne's room to notify Lord Illidan of the situation.

"She _what_?!" He roared. Quickly he pulled on his pants and told Kalyne he was leaving. She was too tired to do anything but grunt in response. He left her sleeping in her bed, and stomped his way out to confront Lilythae.

What the hell was she doing?

 **/*\**

 **Lilythae: I'm not gonna fuck with the people in the temple.**

 **Also Lilythae: *brings home 3 stray children.***

 **In other news, I have a friend who thought Lilythae was a canon character. I feel honored.**

 **-Statyck**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again! Sorry I took so long to update. I had midterms to attend to.**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

Lilythae listened as her master came stomping into the main hall. There were already healers surrounding the young draenei, and the two elves were sitting in her lap. She was lightly combing the night elf's hair with her fingers, while the blood elf leaned on her shoulder asleep. The pair had taken very quickly to her, and while that might have delighted her in another life it now worried her deeply.

Even children should not trust so easily.

All the same, she wasn't going to object. They both needed comfort and she'd wager that once the draenei woke up, she would need comfort too. Having been denied the chance to be with her own daughter Lilythae reveled in the privilege of holding the two girls close. Once Illidan made his presence known, the night elf's head immediately snapped up. Fear flashed across her face as the man approached, his hooves slamming on the ground. His horns stood tall above his head and his mouth was contorted into a grimace, showing off his razor-sharp teeth. He most certainly looked angry, but he took a deep breath and addressed Lilythae calmly.

It was as though he _didn't_ want to frighten the little girl who cowered into Lilythae's shoulder.

"Lieutenant." He ground out. "May I have a word with you?"

The little girl looked up at Lilythae uncertainly, but the demon hunter smiled sweetly. Whispering assurances that she would be back she left the two in the care of the healers. Lilythae followed Illidan away from the training grounds.

As soon as the others were out of earshot he turned on her.

"What have you done?" He snarled.

"I was out hunting." She said. "They were all by themselves."

"That's no excuse. Why didn't you take them back to the forest?"

"The draenei wouldn't have made it. The transformation would have finished." She defended. He made a face.

"You shouldn't have brought them here." He spat. "There are both Horde and Alliance camps in Shadowmoon. You could have left them there."

"Had it just been the draenei I would have." She shot back. "But there are three of them and I had already cleared a path back to the temple. It was the only way to ensure their safety."

"And what do you propose we do with them?" He demanded. "I don't know if you've noticed, but this fortress was _not_ designed with young ones in mind."

"It was better than leaving them in the middle of the valley." She defended.

"Where were their parents?"

"I don't know, but I couldn't leave them to die." He snorted and turned away. Lilythae felt her eyes narrow. "Do you disagree my lord?"

He whirled on her, anger flying across his gaze. She seemed to be making him angry a lot lately. For a wild moment she thought he might try to hit her, but he made no move to do so. Finally he sighed, and though the expression hadn't left his face it left his tone.

"I am a monster. I am aware of that. But I do not advocate the killing of children." He turned. "You are responsible for them. When the draenei has recovered, you will take them home."

His magic flared and he evaporated, teleporting off somewhere.

/*\

Feyly arched her back, rocking herself into Rayne. Her breathing was heavy and his nails dug into her hips. He was one of the only people she actually liked, and that was made obvious with each mewl and cry he incited. He growled with each thrust, and as Feyly let her gaze flicker to the hourglass she did her best to speak.

"Hurry up." She purred, rolling her hips once more. "You're almost out of time."

Rayne swore and his movements hastened. Feyly watched as the sand ran out and felt as her lover rammed into her one final time and snarled his completion, finally sated. She shouted his name, gasping for air. He removed himself and slid to the side of the bed, his fingers lightly caressing the woman's breast. She took a moment to rest and then stood to leave. Quickly the demon hunter's hand snapped out, taking hold of her wrist.

"Feyly." He said. "I have a question for you." She giggled.

"I'm sorry Rayne, but if there are other people waiting for me I have to tend to them. If not, I promise I'll come back." She said.

"Well that too, but I wanted to ask something else actually." He answered. Her face softened some.

"And what is that?" She asked. Rayne almost looked hesitant, but very quickly spoke.

"What's going on with the Lord and the lieutenant?"

/*\

The Den had always been a hub for drama. It was a lovely habitat for gossip, a climate perfect for bitterness and betrayal. It was always an active setting, people walking with purpose or attending to chores and other duties.

Today, however, the excitement was a little less malicious. Instead of rumors about sex and poison and murder, today a different story circulated the large hall. The consorts had dressed into more modest clothing and even Illidan's harem had made an appearance, nearly all of them together. The news was fairly exciting.

It had been a very long time since anyone in the temple had seen a child. Many thought themselves too far gone to ever be allowed to interact with such innocence again. Illidan's girls were going to petition him to let the children live within the comforts of the Den until further notice, and though some found it to be a dubious idea others realized the logic in it.

Either way the men and women alike were curious. They knew that Lieutenant Bloodbringer had been the one to bring the three into the temple, and that she currently sat with them. One of the children was even a night elf, a rarity in Azeroth. Many couldn't remember the last time they'd seen a kal'dorei child, and many more had never seen one to begin with. The woman's tragic past was not a secret, but though many were sympathetic to her there were those who disagreed with her actions.

But it didn't matter. No one could change what Lilythae had done, and thanks to her the wounded child was able to get medical assistance in a timely fashion. Though the rest of the temple now had to deal with her actions, no one could fault her for that.

/*\

Marhail watched as Helia left the hall with Kor'lei.

She did not approve of what they were doing.

While Marhail herself was interested to see the temple's newest visitors, she also knew that the Den was no place for them. The reasons were obvious, and even more than that she didn't know how Kalyne would react.

It was obvious that the matter of the three children would take up Lord Illidan's time, and Kalyne would not appreciate him being focused on other things. She had just gotten him to lay with her again and she would be reluctant to relinquish his attention. Marhail didn't think she'd go as far as to harm the children, but she also didn't think it was a good idea to have them living in such close proximity to her.

She would have to keep a close eye on the situation, and she felt that she could probably get Feyly to help her. After all, Feyly absolutely adored Lilythae. She'd do anything for her, and Marhail would guess that – being the one who saved them – Lilythae would be very invested in the comfort and safety of the three guests.

Marhail retreated into the confines of her study and she began to rearrange her bookcases. If the children were going to live in the Den it was very likely they'd be living with Illidan's harem. They got private rooms, almost entire houses to themselves. They got private baths, enormous wells of natural hot springs. They had bookshelves that kissed the ceilings. They had fine clothes that ranged from silk to mageweave to embersilk, and just about anything else they wanted. It wouldn't do for the girls to get anywhere _near_ the public areas of the Den and it probably wouldn't be much better in the military barracks with Lilythae, but the luxurious apartments for each member of Illidan's harem were another story entirely.

So Marhail got to work thinking of things that might do well to occupy the minds of little ones. She didn't have many books that would exactly appeal to young children, but she _did_ have an enormous stockpile of information on magic, hunting, holy power, druidism, and all sorts of professions. Things that they might be learning in school.

 _Their time with us won't exactly be fun,_ she thought wryly, _but perhaps we may be able to help them with their studies._

/*\

When Illidan heard the knock on his door, it took every ounce of his self-restraint not to blast whoever was behind it with fel power. He was unbelievably frustrated and entirely exhausted.

Lilythae had insulted him greatly. Had she been anyone else he might have killed her. In the context of the conversation, the question hadn't been unjust. In fact, the way he'd been carrying on, it had been a rather reasonable assumption. But it still stung.

Did he really come off as being such a man? Yes, he could be rather cruel on occasion but he'd never, ever harm a child. Even for the Illidari that would be crossing a line.

At least that's what he told himself.

Reluctantly he called for the intruder to enter, and as the door swung open he found himself surprised. He hadn't expected her to approach him, and especially not this soon. Lilythae stood in the entryway, her hair falling over her face. She stared at him cautiously, gauging his reaction, and as he nodded in approval she let the door fall shut behind her.

"I want to apologize, my lord." She stated. "For the intrusion as well as the children."

He moved too fast for her to see, but he quickly placed himself behind her, his hands snatching at her hips. He pulled her close.

"We already spoke of this." He said. "But if you wish to apologize, I won't protest." She tried to step forward, but his fingers tightened around her. She snorted.

"Not like that." She muttered. "But I felt I owed it to you. I know that the Black Temple is not a suitable place for them."

"Again." He murmured. "We already spoke of this. Is that all you have to say?" She looked away, suddenly shy.

"No." She said. "I also wanted tell you about the night elf. Her name is Va'lyn. She was an escapee from what sounds like an internment camp. I assumed you would want to know." Illidan's eyebrow rose. That sounded important.

"Indeed. Tell me more about this girl." She turned in his grasp, ready to give him whatever information he desired.

"What would you like to know?"

"What are the details behind her story?" He asked, his fingers resting on her waist. Lilythae sighed, crossing her arms and chewing on her lip. For someone boasting knowledge, she seemed reluctant to speak.

"I couldn't get very many, but it sounds like the camp is somewhere north in the valley. The draenei and the blood elf, Belrii and Aelelia, got captured soon after she'd arrived there. The layout sounds very basic, as though they only just got it up and running, but she thinks her parents are dead. They managed to distract the demons long enough to let those three escape."

"I see." Illidan stated. "And what would you like to do about this?"

"I'd like to dismantle it as soon as possible. If there's any chance of Va'lyn's parents being still alive, it would be in her best interests to get them back." She quickly responded. Illidan could feel his gaze darken.

"Sometimes we have to sacrifice others for the good of everyone else." He answered slowly. A flash of rage crossed the woman's face, but she didn't protest.

"I see. I will take my leave now." And with that she evaded his grasp, twirling around him towards the door.

But she didn't get to go just yet.

He grasped her wrist, keeping her still, and spoke again. He respected Lilythae greatly. She was one of the strongest soldiers in his ranks and still she retained a soft heart, but this was not something he could budge on. Had it not been for the attack on the temple yesterday, he might have been willing to indulge her vigilantism. He might have been willing to let her do this small thing to alleviate her conscience. Yet the fact remained: there were too few demon hunters. He couldn't justify sending out a party to eliminate a small camp while they prepared for Mardum.

"First and foremost you will obey this command," he said, changing the subject, "as soon as the draenei is fit to travel you're taking them home. We have excellent healers, so I'd say by morning."

"Consider it done." She responded. "Anything else, my lord?" His lips quirked.

"I'd also be happy to welcome you into my bed." He tried. She raised an eyebrow.

"Believe me." She drawled. "I know. But I would not be so ready to welcome you into mine."

"Hmph." He leaned down and kissed her. "Didn't you come here to apologize to me? If you wish to be relieved of punishment for your actions, do as I say."

"That's abuse of power." She snapped, biting down on his lip. Illidan softly smiled to himself. The distraction was working. He flicked his tongue out, tasting blood for a brief second before the wound sealed.

"Maybe." He said. "But you will not leave yet, lieutenant. Indulge me for a moment, and all will be forgiven." Still she hesitated. "You were willing this morning. What changed?"

She had no answer.

/*\

Lilythae allowed Illidan to do as he pleased. To an extent. She herself enjoyed his attentions. His fingers skated over her skin, light and teasing. She let her own palms trail down his chest and shoulders. He'd pulled her onto the bed, letting her sit atop him. She could jump away at any time she liked, if he pushed too far.

Yet she remained.

Where before Orion's magic would have been flying around, stinging her and begging her to reject the lord he remained silent. Her heart felt almost hollow, the warmth of his mana entirely absent. Orion Starsong had forsaken her. As of now she had no reason to reject Illidan, but all the same…

She wondered if he wanted her, or if he merely wanted to conquer her. She wondered if she wanted him.

Did she really want a man who would be willing to let children become orphaned for his cause? But then, couldn't the same be said for any other leader in Azeroth? The only thing that made him different was the fel energy that coursed through his veins. Just like the power that raced through hers. Was it really worth dwelling on?

For the time being she was content to kiss and nip at his skin, as he certainly enjoyed doing the same to her. His mouth traveled along her neck now and she'd have paid it no mind if it wasn't for the fact that he had very lightly bitten down on a particular spot.

Come to think of it, why did that feel so good? His teeth – all of them – were sharp in the manner of a demons. They were like needles in his mouth, yet now they were blunt on her skin. How? The thought was interrupted when he did it again.

A tiny gasp escaped her lips, and his arm tightened around her waist. He held her close, trapping her to him as a long shudder rocked its way down her spine. Quickly she leaned down and bit at his ear. She reached into his hair to grab at the silver ornament, vaguely like hers, and pulled the long black locks down. He rumbled his approval as her hands clutched at the strands and he pulled her face down to kiss her once more. Very lightly he shifted, to sit more comfortably, and Lilythae was hyper-aware of the feeling the movement evoked between her legs.

Perhaps the moonflower hadn't completely gone from her system.

It was then that a loud knocking broke them both out of their haze and panic gripped her heart. It was the feeling of being caught doing something she shouldn't have and it hit her like a ton of bricks.

She was sitting on Illidan's lap. She was kissing him and touching him and letting him do the same to her. She couldn't let anyone else see. Illidan still held Lilythae close, a grimace crossing his face, but before he could get a word out the lieutenant whispered an incantation.

Just like that, she was gone. She had teleported herself away.

/*\

Aelelia woke to find that the demon-hunter lady had gone. She was on the floor next to the night elf – Va'lyn if she understood correctly – and blinked sleepily. Where was Belrii?

Oh, right. Belrii was hurt. She was laying down on a cot in a large room, a man standing next to her. He was bandaging up her hurt leg. Aelelia wanted to ask him if Belrii was alright, but she didn't know if he would be able to understand her.

He was a night elf, and she didn't know anything about Darnassian. She wished she could tell Va'lyn to ask for her, but Va'lyn didn't know Thalassian. Had it not been for the fact that Belrii could understand the languages of both elves, the three girls would have never made it out of that camp. For a moment, Aelelia was glad that Belrii was so smart.

Aelelia stared out at her friend in the cot. Belrii was breathing and draped in blankets. Her tail hung off the end and even in her sleep she wore a sour expression on her face. The blood elf could feel her brows furrow in worry. She wasn't supposed to be friends with Belrii. She had only wanted to play together in Terokkar, like they did every day. They always played in the forest, it should have been safe.

But it wasn't.

Aelelia felt tears well up in her eyes again. When they got home, Belrii's parents would blame her for what had happened and they wouldn't let the draenei out of their sight ever again. The man tied off the bandage and looked up, blinking at Aelelia. Though he was a night elf, his eyes glowed bright green like hers. Like all night elves, his ears were far too long and – to her – looked entirely stupid. His hair had been bound into a ponytail, white like the woman's, and a pair of smaller horns stuck out from his head. Black tattoos stood out against blue skin, and all the girl could think to herself was how odd he looked. Not threatening or scary, just strange.

"I see you're awake now." He said warmly, smiling. "Hello. My name is Rayne, and you are?"

"Hello." She answered after a moment of hesitation. "I'm Aelelia. Will Belrii be okay?" The night elf nodded reassuringly.

"Indeed. The lieutenant got her here in very good time. It was simple for us to repair the wound. She won't change into an eredar." He said. Aelelia's brows furrowed on her forehead as she sidled just a little closer to Va'lyn.

"What's an eredar?" She asked uneasily. For a moment the demon hunter looked taken aback, but the expression soon vanished.

"Nothing." He answered quickly. "It's just another term for a sick person. The wound was infected and was making her sick, but we were able to fix it."

Aelelia wasn't convinced.

"Okay." She answered. "Do you know when she'll be all better?" Rayne shrugged.

"The wound should be completely healed by morning." He said. "Don't try to disturb her. She needs rest if she's going to get better."

"I know that." She snapped. "But she'll live?" Rayne's face softened.

"Of course." He reiterated. "Your friend will be just fine. There's nothing to worry about. You can play with her." He gestured to Va'lyn, and to this Aelelia frowned.

"It would be easier to play with her if we could talk to each other. Belrii could understand Thalassian and I could say some stuff in Draenei, but Darnassian is different." She stated.

"I see." Rayne said, a serious expression crossing his face. He seemed to understand her plight. "Well for the time being, I can translate for you. What would you like to say to her?"

/*\

"I don't understand why we're having this discussion." Illidan stated dismissively. "Those children won't be here for a day. They're going as soon as dawn hits."

"But my lord." Helia pleaded. "It won't be safe to take them back through the valley. There have been so many adventurers wandering through Shadowmoon. If they catch sight of Illidari with young ones they may assume the worst."

"That's their problem." Illidan snorted derisively. "And it is not as though I'll be sending Lilythae alone. She will have backup and the injured one will be healed. I don't see the issue."

"If I may." Kor'lei interjected. "The people of the temple are very agitated right now. Those in the Den alone are obsessing over Lilythae's brush with death. We aren't asking that you allow us to keep them for months on end. Just let them stay in one of our chambers overnight. It's far more suitable than Lilythae's tiny room with that one single cot."

Illidan stared down at Kor'lei and snorted. He really wasn't sure what to do about this. It had been a very long time since Illidan had last seen a child, and he couldn't truly say he'd ever interacted with one. He wasn't sure how to care for one. They were entirely foreign entities, but his consorts seemed to know what they were talking about.

All the same, he wasn't about to admit his ignorance.

"One night in the barracks won't hurt them. What if there's another attack? Lilythae would protect them with her life." He said.

"My lord," Helia ground out, her hand tightening on the handle of her mace, "so would we. Lieutenant Bloodbringer is exceedingly powerful, but the Den has numbers. Your harem can fight if need be and we aren't exactly helpless." She bristled. Illidan raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed." He drawled. "All the same, you still have some convincing to do. I admit I have very limited personal experience with children, but you cannot expect me to believe that the Den is a good place for them."

"But we won't have them in the Den!" Kor'lei exploded. "We would keep them in those lovely private rooms you gave to us! We have books and tables and private baths and mountains of pillows they could sleep on! They're probably the best places to put them for a night or two. Two minutes walking through the public area of the Den will do no harm." She insisted.

"You know what?" Illidan finally growled. "Fine. Take them. Just keep them out of the way. We're still making massive preparations for Mardum and I must remain focused on that. Go ahead, do what you like, but please do not speak of this to me any longer."

/*\

Lilythae rushed back to the training grounds to find Rayne speaking to the two girls. She had vaporized in Illidan's grasp, leaving him irate no doubt, but she hadn't hesitated to rush back out to the training grounds to attend to the trio.

They were, after all, her responsibility.

Belrii would be fine. The healers had told her so but she was worried about the two elven children. It had become very obvious very quickly that they couldn't communicate, and had relied on the draenei for that, but as Lilythae entered the grounds she found Rayne casually leaning against the wall. He wore a look of amusement plastered all over his face, and the two little girls each looked extremely angry. They were facing off with one another and Va'lyn was very quickly firing words in Darnassian:

"That is NOT true! Night elves don't sleep in the dirt! Tell her!" She demanded, glaring up at Rayne. As soon as she finished the sentence, the demon hunter chuckled and calmly translated the words for Aelelia.

"You act all offended, but you actually believed that blood elves actually drink blood?!" She shot back. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

Lilythae had no idea how long the discussion had been going on, or even why Rayne was encouraging the argument, but she couldn't help but to take a moment to simply watch. There had been many, many similar – erm, _conversations_ within the Illidari even after she'd joined. Being an alliance between two races that were traditionally adversaries, the Illidari had a lot of prejudices to overcome. This was actually one of the most mature arguments she'd heard on the subject of night elf and blood elf stereotypes and it was just barely civil. Though now she felt ashamed to think about it, Lilythae could recall many exchanges she'd participated in that sounded rather similar to this one.

Maybe just a bit less innocent.

"Okay fine, I'll give you that." Aelelia finally conceded. "Hawkstriders are a little weird looking, but are giant birds any weirder than large cats that will eat you in the middle of the night?" Va'lyn blinked.

"You don't let them in your house."

"That's just mean."

Finally Lilythae decided to speak up. As cute as the little spat was, both girls looked to be near tears with frustration. The lieutenant piped up.

"Rayne!" She called. "Why are you encouraging this?" The demon hunter shrugged.

"They wanted to talk to each other." He defended himself. "I was only translating."

"No you weren't." She chided. "I heard some of those 'translations'. Are you really such a sadist that you enjoy making children fight?" He had the grace to look ashamed.

"No…" He answered. "I'll leave them to you now Lieutenant. I need to check on the draenei." And with that Rayne turned and walked back to the tiny cot that had been quickly and haphazardly set up to accommodate the injured girl. Lilythae approached Va'lyn and Aelelia.

"So what's going on here?" The lieutenant asked, once in each language. Both girls looked like they wanted to answer her when a new voice rang out in the middle of the courtyard.

"Lieutenant!" It shouted. "We'll be taking this from here." And as Lilythae turned, she saw a pair of familiar faces. Kor'lei Riverspell approached the small group, her white cat lazily trailing behind. Immediately Va'lyn's face lit up at the sight of something familiar, and the little girl was quick to ask the consort if she could pet the cat.

"Of course," Kor'lei assured, "just be careful of her ears. She doesn't like that."

Meanwhile Aelelia was busy hiding behind Lilythae. The tiny blood elf wasn't an especially shy child, she spoke far more than Va'lyn, but a lot had happened to her today. She stared at the cat apprehensively, and approached slowly at Kor'lei's encouraging nod. With the two suitably distracted, the second woman approached.

"Hello Lilythae," she stated.

"Helia." The lieutenant answered. "What's going on?"

"Lord Illidan stated that we were to be taking care of our new visitors." Helia said, conversing with Lilythae while Kor'lei entertained the children with her cat and random animal facts. "We are to keep them within our private rooms."

"Really?" Lilythae questioned, crossing her arms. "That's funny. Lord Illidan just informed me that I was responsible for them." Helia twirled her hammer between her fingers.

"We were able to persuade him otherwise. Surely you agree that the private apartments are a little more…accepting than the barracks."

Helia had a point.

 **/*\**

 **Hope you liked chapter 6! I had no idea what to do for it, so I just winged it and hoped for the best.**

 **-Statyck**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again! Sorry I took so long to update. IRL stuff happened. Just wanted to let you all know I now have a fictionpress account! Where I post actual original writing! I'm not a hack I swear. xD It's the same name as my fanfiction – Statyck – and if it suits you to do so I would really appreciate it if you gave it a chance! :D Enjoy the story!**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

Marhail heard knocking on her door and she glared at it. She wasn't ready to take any visitors just yet, and she was still sorting out her bookshelves, but she answered it anyways. She'd changed out of her silk lingerie and chains into a plain silvery dress, covering all her extremities. She was fit to be seen, and that was the important part.

She found a pair of elven girls standing with Kor'lei, and the woman herself grinned at Marhail.

"I thought you'd want to see them. Is it okay if we put them in your room for now? I haven't fully cleaned up mine yet, and, you know…." She looked at her meaningfully, and Marhail knew exactly what she was saying.

Marhail's room was the farthest away from Kalyne's. The door was near one of the quietest spots in the Den, and the two little girls looked entirely exhausted.

Marhail welcomed them in and watched as a stretcher was pulled through. The third child was fast asleep, and the consort was quick to have them place her on the large azure bed. She pulled the covers up over the draenei and got the two elves situated while the other adults quietly left.

It had been a very long time since Marhail had taken care of a child.

/*\

Lilythae had collapsed onto her bed, annoyed. She knew that Illidan was probably very displeased with the way their little encounter had ended. To be perfectly honest, she was a bit disappointed too. But also relieved.

War was a simple thing. She trained, she made plans, and she fought. She fought until there was nothing left to fight, and the lifestyle was good for a heart as broken as it was angry. She had enemies and allies, and their purpose in her life was as black and white as could be.

No longer.

No one had ever taken Illidan as seriously about his habits of lying with other demon hunters or the consorts. They knew the relationships were forged from pain and stress-relief. It had nothing to do with affection or kindness, and so the politics of the situation had remained unimportant. Now though?

Mutual attraction was one thing. It was quite another if his attention got her killed.

She groaned into her pillow. She couldn't just hide in her room until Mardum. She had to train and make plans and-

Wait! She had to get rid of Torin! Out of everything else she had on her plate right now, getting Torin out of the temple and away from Feyly was probably the simplest thing she could do. In fact the mission would be departing at the stroke of midnight, only three hours away. If she wanted to make the schedule change, she had to go now.

Lilythae cast her spell and materialized to the front of the temple. She went to make the change when she found something interesting.

Someone else had already done it.

/*\

Illidan was more than a little bit frustrated. He _had_ her! He had her exactly where he wanted her. He'd been so close. She was kissing him, clinging to him, rewarding him with beautiful mewls and gasps. He'd have gotten so much farther if it hadn't been for the damn knocking on the door.

How ironic, that he'd been kept from his careful conquest by the women he routinely bedded. Though not so much anymore.

But then, even if he was frustrated they'd had good reason for barging into his room. The three children were, indeed, important. He couldn't just let them wander around the temple as they pleased, they'd get hurt. But he'd found a solution, so everything was fine.

He looked over the supply run list, and a thought occurred to him. He'd heard what Feyly and Lilythae had been talking about the other night, how the night elf had let it slip that one of his hunters had been abusing her. It was not something he liked to tolerate, but things were so tense right now that he couldn't just deal with it. They'd have to take people away from the run, but he could still replace them. Rayne Stillwater was on the list, and it was Illidan's understanding that this particular demon hunter had taken up some of the healing duties for the wounded draenei.

There was his switch.

This decision had other benefits. Rayne was a little bit sweet on Feyly, possibly getting her out of his way without him requiring the assistance of foul play. If he informed the consort of his actions – getting Torin away from her – he might be able to wring himself a favor or two. For once, he was glad that his little harem liked to gossip so much. These pieces of information might help him get closer to what he wanted.

For now his preparations for Mardum were pretty much complete. He'd overseen the training after the funeral that morning, and he'd recalculated the assault. He'd ensured that his lieutenants reported to him that everything was running smoothly in the temple and he'd just finished fixing the supply run assignments. He sent the new list out to be posted, and now up until the day of the attack itself he had nothing else to do.

He could give his attention to Lilythae all he liked. He just needed to ensnare her in his bedroom one more time.

/*\

Feyly wandered the halls, doing odd chores. Beds upon beds needed cleaning, food needed cooking, and demon hunters needed attention. So much attention.

She had sympathy for them, always. She knew they were in pain, both physically and emotionally, all of the time. All the same, sometimes they could be quite difficult to tolerate. As Feyly stripped the sheets off another sapphire blue bed, she listened as one of her fellow concubines desperately tried to fend off a hunter.

"I'm sorry Liara, but I need a break. I've already serviced several people. I'm so tired and sore."

"But I could make you feel better, Malon." Liara persisted. "I used to be a priestess, I could fix you up in moments."

"I appreciate it, but healing magic cannot substitute sleep." Malon begged. Feyly could almost hear Liara's pout as she beat out a sheet and threw it in her little hamper.

"But–!" The hunter was interrupted by another woman, diving in to Malon's rescue.

"It's okay Liara," the woman reassured, "I'd be happy to keep you company while Malon rests."

Luckily the hunter had chosen to take the deal, though not after a bit of grumbling. Though to be fair to her, she did use some healing spells on the exhausted concubine. Feyly peeked from the corner of her eye and found a demon hunter with regal horns and tight leathers walking with the second consort. Malon herself, a blood elf with pretty blond pixie hair, was quick to dive into the kitchen. There were hammocks in there, good for sleeping when you didn't want to be found, and Feyly had been able to see the shadows under the girl's eyes from all the way across the room. She sincerely hoped that Malon would feel better soon.

She was maybe three beds into her duties when a pair of hands snaked around her waist.

"Hey Feyly." A slimy voice whispered into her ear. "When you're done with your chores, do you think you could spend a couple hours with me?"

"I don't know." She responded as cordially as possible, while the man behind her subtly dug his claws into her hips. So that she'd be the only one to notice the vague threat. "I'm on bed duty, and these take a _really_ long time to wash. Like, almost an entire day. I'm not gonna be done by tonight."

"Aww that's too bad." He murmured. "But that's okay. I can wait." Lightly he nipped her ear and bolted away, vanishing into thin air.

Feyly really hoped that Lilythae had kept her promise. Another night with Torin could be the thing that finally does her in. Every session he got rougher and rougher. Eventually…

No amount of healing spells would be able to force her recovery.

It wasn't much longer later that a small explosion racked the front entrance of the temple, and Feyly found herself surprised to hear a voice.

"Shut the _fuck_ up, you complete and utter piece of _shit_!" It shouted. As Feyly momentarily abandoned her duties she felt her stomach sink. She joined the small crowd, and the moment she saw the dueling pair her heart completely stopped.

There was Lilythae, baring fangs and holding her glaives. Her eyes flared behind her plain red blindfold with fel power and her magic lashing through the air, just as angry as she was. Opposite her was Torin.

/*\

Lilythae was frustrated. The one thing she could've done to help someone, and somebody else had already beaten her to it! But that in itself wasn't exactly odd. Many of the hunters absolutely adored Feyly. She was hardly the only person who would want to protect her, and Lilythae doubted that she was the only person who knew what was going on. It wasn't unreasonable to think that the consort had befriended just Lilythae.

She was surprised to find that the thought almost made her upset.

So with not much else to do, Lilythae decided to return to her room. Though she'd spent a better part of the day sleeping she was entirely exhausted. It was only nine in the evening, and she'd had a long day. Hell, she figured by the time this was all over she'd have had a particularly long week.

If they could get the damn demons out of Mardum the war would be over before it even had much of a chance to begin. The demons would be allowed to hurt no one else and everything could be fine again.

As Lilythae stripped back down to her underwear, she couldn't help but wonder: what _would_ life be like once the creatures were eradicated? What would happen when they were sent back to their world, unable to ever return?

The possibilities sometimes frightened her.

She knew that they would never be allowed to reconnect with elven society. She didn't think they'd be allowed into any society, for that matter. The demon hunters were deeply hated and it wasn't entirely undeserved. In taking the fel power into themselves they also took on demonic traits, things that went past patches of scaly skin and horns. They actively killed innocent people to further their own gains, and while Lilythae knew that sometimes other people had to die for the greater good she did not think ritual sacrifice was the way to do it.

In fact, there had been several demon hunters who didn't agree with it. Except, unlike her, they broke off with the Illidari and began to do things their own way. And it worked. That being said, Illidan seemed to be changing. Some.

Lilythae was worried about those little girls, for more than one reason. Should Illidan decide they'd do well as sacrifices, nobody would stop him. Should he change his mind and do something, he would gain no opposition. If he were to order they live in the Den until they reached adulthood….

She didn't think he'd do something like that, but Illidan could be so unpredictable. One moment he could make his compassion the first priority. He could be the brave hero who willingly stood against his enemies with almost no one else to help him, and many a demon trembled before his might. The next moment he could be a coward and a cold-hearted bastard. He could completely justify sinking an entire continent into the ocean if it meant eradicating a single enemy and a small army incapable of dying. He played dead while Arthas had his back turned, and made his escape while allowing yet another evil to roam this world.

Illidan had been right: bringing those kids into the temple was a bad idea, but not for the reasons he thought. She'd seen how the hunters and the consorts treated the little children. They were careful to place themselves between the kids and the demons and few naga that roamed the halls. They'd looked at the little ones with a sort of reverence, an appreciation for everything they had sacrificed and thought they'd never get to see again.

No, the danger was not with the hunters or the concubines.

It was with him.

As Lilythae tossed and turned in her small bed, these were the thoughts that plagued her mind. Her leader was a loose cannon, and the longer things went on the more wary she felt of him. Not just romantic feelings either, but her general sense of who he was as a person. When she'd first arrived Illidan had been a cold and calculating creature. He couldn't get over the fact that the High Priestess of the Moon, Tyrande, hadn't chosen him. He rationalized how his loss to the Lich King was actually a victory, a blessing in disguise. He didn't like to be wrong or seen making mistakes. Ever.

But the longer she was in the temple, the stranger Lilythae's master got. She assumed it was because he'd grown comfortable with her presence, but Illidan wasn't someone who got uncomfortable with other people. He was incredibly intelligent and had somehow retained his utterly charming charisma, even in spite of the horns and hooves. He knew all the right things to say to people, and that alone could have made him incredibly dangerous. As more time passed he exposed facets of his personality that she found amusing, endearing, and somewhat soft.

And then he'd order her to bring back mortal prisoners to dismember for his next arcane experiment.

Lilythae threw off the blankets and angrily stomped back to her wardrobe. She pulled the drawstrings a little harshly, and the furs on her hips weren't entirely symmetrical by the time she was through. As she tightened the tie on her chest-piece she couldn't help but to grumble to herself,

"Fucking asshole. Sacrificing people and shit." And with that, her magic flared and she vanished.

Leaving the man scrying on her incredibly confused.

/*\

Marhail was surprised to find Lilythae on the other side of her door.

"Hello Lieutenant." She greeted, bowing slightly to maintain the proper decorum. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It was my understanding that our newest guests were staying with you. I just wanted to check in and make sure they were settling in okay." Lilythae answered, just a tad stiff. Marhail grinned.

"Oh don't worry," she reassured, "they're fine."

"But we're so boooored!" A voice wailed in the background. "Why are you making us do schoolwork?" The lieutenant looked as though she were trying not to smile.

"School?" She inquired, looking to Marhail questioningly. The woman couldn't keep the smirk off her face.

"Come have a look." She whispered conspiratorially, widening the door to let the demon hunter in. As Marhail shut the door and turned around, she found Aelelia glaring at the lieutenant.

"All I did was ask a question." The little blood elf said, putting down her quill.

"And what question was that?" The lieutenant asked, giggling and placing her hands on her hips.

"I asked why we couldn't go see the rest of the den. It looks really nice and the food smells good."

"And I promise you," Marhail interjected, "there will be food here soon. They need time to cook it."

"But I'm hungry _now_." The girl moaned, letting her face drop down onto her book. Throughout all this, Va'lyn hadn't said a word. She'd looked up at the blood elves apprehensively, and quietly went back to the assignment Marhail had given her. Animal anatomy, she thought. She couldn't remember, she'd just picked some books at random to deflect Aelelia's question.

"And what about you?" Lilythae asked gently in Darnassian. "How are you faring?" The girl looked up again, and responded hesitantly.

"There are a lot of blood elves here." She said. Marhail sighed softly.

"And I promise you," she interjected, "none of the sin'dorei here will harm you. We live in peace with other night elves here."

All the same, the little girl only shrugged and looked back down on the paper. Marhail crossed her arms and bit her lip. Va'lyn had been very quiet from the start, and it made sense that the blood elves would make her nervous. After all, in the rest of the world the blood elves would be her enemies. She probably knew very little about their race, and the only information she would have was that they were hostile. Now she had been placed in a situation where most of the people around her were elf of a different sort, a bad sort.

It wasn't unreasonable for her to be so uneasy.

Lilythae walked up to the table and studied the night elf a moment. Gingerly the lieutenant took the girls face in her hand and examined her. Marhail edged a bit closer, wondering what the demon hunter was looking at.

"Does that hurt?" She asked gently, lightly touching the edge of a barely visible bruise.

"It did before." Va'lyn answered. "Now it only hurts if you touch it." Lilythae nodded in understanding, continuing her inspection.

"Did you get this while escaping?" Lilythae inquired. Slowly the little girl shook her head.

"No, I got it before we were captured." And immediately she pulled away, staring back down at her book. It was plain she'd say nothing more on the matter. Lilythae looked as though she wanted to protest and press the issue, but Marhail could not see that ending well. Aelelia calmly observed the situation, and though Marhail knew she couldn't understand a word of Darnassian she still pitched in.

"You know," she said, "I feel kinda gross. Is there a bath in here?" Marhail smiled in relief. Lilythae glanced up at the girl, and then to Marhail. With just that one little sentence, the situation had been entirely defused.

"Well?" The demon hunter asked, a small smile on her face. "Is there a bath in here?" The consort grinned.

"Indeed Lieutenant. And it's _huge._ "

And so, homework forgotten, Aelelia leapt out of her chair. Va'lyn followed soon after a brief explanation, her face brightening at the prospect of warm water. The two were quick to follow Marhail, and the consort turned to Lilythae.

"Would you like to come see the baths too?" She asked. The other woman's lips quirked.

"I _was_ always curious to see what luxuries you had." And as she stepped in, Marhail could see a mixture of awe and envy cross the demon hunter's face.

"Nice, isn't it Lieutenant?" The consort quipped. Lilythae shot her an annoyed glance.

"It's very nice." She responded. "Infinitely nicer than anything I have."

Marhail couldn't help but to stand a little straighter. Her superior's envy was almost amusing, but that brought up another question. If Lilythae was Illidan's favorite now, why didn't she get nice apartments? Why didn't she get a warm bath and finer clothes? Marhail might have been inclined to ask, if it wasn't for the presence of their current guests.

They were quick, though, to run off and jump into the enormous fountain. Marhail loved her bath. It was warm and large enough to swim in. There was a small decorative waterfall, and the kids were having a lovely time splashing around and diving beneath the surface of the water. They were paying no mind to the two women at the side, casually supervising and making sure they didn't accidentally hurt themselves.

"So," Marhail started softly, "if it's not inappropriate of me to ask, what's going on?"

"I don't follow." Lilythae said. The consort exhaled.

"Well, with Illidan. He's been acting very strange lately. All of us think so."

"And you think that has something to do with me?"

"If you'll forgive me for saying so, but I know it has something to do with you. In fact, the entirety of the Den knows it, meaning that probably the whole temple is aware as well."

"Aware of what, exactly? I'm sorry, but you'll have to be a little more specific."

"Lilythae, he left me to take care of you in the bath. Do you understand what that means?" She asked carefully, keeping a careful watch over her tone. Though she was curious, it would not do to piss off the lieutenant. Lilythae's eyes lazily met hers.

"I have an idea." She muttered. "I'm not entirely stupid. All the same, I find it strange that he would make his move now. The timing isn't exactly good."

"No," Marhail agreed, "but with Mardum so close…." She trailed off. She thought Lilythae knew what she was getting at. Lilythae sighed.

"Listen. I know that you guys down here in the Den like gossip. You chose a life of comfort, but one of the consequences for that life is a distinct lack of freedom. It's not often you guys can leave the temple, so you're bored and have nothing else to do. But I don't have the answers you're looking for. The attraction is mutual, but I am not willing to let Illidan have me just yet. I'm not sure why he wants me, but I _am_ sure that it's for the wrong reasons." And with that, the demon hunter clamped her lips shut. It was plain that she was done speaking on the subject, but Marhail had already gotten what she needed.

Her peers had a plan in mind, but Marhail had a different idea. Trying to keep Illidan away from something, or rather some _one_ , he wanted to be with simply wouldn't work. It would be like trying to prevent lightning from striking, or the tide from coming in. It wasn't possible.

"You know," Lilythae started, breaking Marhail from her thoughts, "sometimes I find myself wishing I had done something different. Had I stayed single, none of this would have happened." She stated wryly. The consort smiled.

"Perhaps." Marhail answered. "But I think that would have been too cowardly, for someone like you." The demon hunter let out a startled laugh.

"You think so? Maybe it was brave to run off with Orion, but it was hardly the smartest thing to do."

"No, but you were happy right? Even if not for long, that's all that matters." Marhail insisted. Lilythae chuckled and smiled.

"Perhaps." She said. She turned to look out at the pool again. "I've heard what the people have been saying. Do you think it was stupid of me to bring them here?"

"May I speak honestly?"

"Of course."

"I do. But at the same time, I think you had very limited options. Had you tried to get those kids back to the forest or even the encampments, it wouldn't have ended well. The negotiations would have taken too long and she'd have turned into a demon. At the same time, the people in the temple are really unstable. We have healers here, and almost everyone was really excited to see them but the point stands: there are demons here. And demon-infused elves. That doesn't seem like a good idea."

"No kidding." Lilythae muttered. "So the same train of thought as me then. There weren't very many good options. Nice to know I'm not the only one who thought so."

Marhail shrugged, and both women whirled as they heard more knocking on the door.

/*\

"I'll get it." The consort said. "It's probably the food. You can stay for dinner if you like. I ordered them to pretty much bring an entire feast, and I highly doubt Illidan will be joining us." She quipped. All the same, Lilythae trailed behind after checking on the girls one last time. They were splashing around, having fun. It would be fine.

"I hope he doesn't." Lilythae said, following slowly. "I get the feeling he's not very good with kids. He nearly scared the hell out of Va'lyn the first time he saw her. I doubt anyone wants a repeat of that."

Marhail only nodded as she opened the door. Indeed, the food smelled absolutely amazing. In the back of her mind, all Lilythae could think was that she hadn't eaten anything almost all day. She had the tea that made her, well, _sick_ but she was absolutely starving. In the forefront of her mind, however, something else took precedence.

As she peeked over Marhail's shoulder to investigate the tiny feast, Lilythae spied something past the delivery girls.

Torin Sunstrike, walking down the hall with a sour expression on his face. Feyly must have found some way to reject him, and as he caught her eye the man motioned for her to come talk to him. Lilythae grimaced.

As a soldier he was okay. Torin was a skilled fighter. He wasn't as powerful as some of the other demon hunters but he could definitely hold his own in whatever battle he participated in. That being said, it didn't quite excuse his more sadistic tendencies. He liked to toy with the newbies in the training grounds, pummeling them to dust for amusement rather than teaching them. He played with the succubi only to kill them when he was finished. He'd gotten bored for a while, and then he'd shifted his attention to other things.

Such as his desire to torment Feyly.

"Hello Lieutenant." He greeted formally and bowing low, his long blond ponytail nearly dragging the floor. "I just heard that I would be participating in the supply run. I wanted to know if there was any way I might be able to get switched out and stay here."

"And why is that?" Lilythae asked. She had to keep her temper. As much as she disliked Torin, he hadn't technically done anything wrong. With the exception of Feyly of course, but there was no proof of that. So she had to maintain her own decorum.

"I heard that there was a wounded child on the premises. I wanted to offer up my talents. Before the Illidari I was a paladin, and I was very good at healing magic." He explained. Lilythae disguised her triumphant smile as something less smug as she opened her mouth to say something before she was interrupted.

"Oh, there's no need for that." Rayne Stillwater intervened. "I've already taken that up. We decided that a night elf would be better for the draenei. She seemed to be almost frightened of the blood elves if they got too close." He said. Torin was quick to hide his anger, before he politely inquired.

"Oh that's too bad. Do you know why she was scared?" He asked. Rayne shook his head.

"No idea. My guess is that she had a bad experience with the sin'dorei, and she was so feverish that I have no doubt she was having hallucinations. I used a couple of mild healing spells on her leg and face, and that seemed to do the trick. She's recovering in one of the private apartments." The night elf answered. The two men forgot Lilythae very quickly, and she watched the argument with interest.

"Mild spells?" Torin quickly chirped. "Maybe you should have used stronger magic. She shouldn't still be needing healing. If you just aren't strong enough…." He trailed off.

"Oh don't worry, I am." Rayne drawled. "I decided to let her recover naturally so that her body can build up a defense against what little fel energy remains in her blood. If she can build up that immunity, she'll be at a much lower risk for becoming eredar later in life should she ever have another run-in with demons. Not that you'd know anything about that, having very little experience with draenei."

"How considerate." The blood elf muttered after a brief pause. "Well that's too bad then. I was really looking forward to another night with Feyly."

Lilythae noticed the rage that flashed across Rayne's face.

"Why, so you can batter her some more? Make her scream in pain?" He growled. Torin's eyebrows shot upwards in false surprise. He whistled, almost sounding impressed.

"That's one serious accusation, Stillwater. Batter her? I don't know what you're talking about. I've never left a mark on her."

"Says the guy who just bragged about his amazing healing skills." Rayne said. Torin took a quick glance around the room. By some strange miracle, no one was paying any attention to the spectacle taking place just by the entrance of the Den. There were too many people, and they were all busy. Torin leaned in, and whispered just low enough that Lilythae and Rayne could hear.

"Enjoy these two weeks. Her last session with me will probably be her last session ever." His teeth flashed as he smiled but before Rayne had the chance to attack the smug little bastard, Lilythae did.

Fire erupted in braziers and devoured curtains and bannisters. Both Torin and Rayne jumped as sparks flew around them, and if that wasn't enough to catch the attention of the masses Lilythae's next words most certainly were.

"Shut the _fuck_ up, you complete and utter piece of _shit_!" She snarled.

Lilythae couldn't take it anymore. Illidan's stupidity, Kalyne's stupidity, and now Torin's stupidity. She had snapped, and Torin was the only one she could actively retaliate against. He was a lower-ranking soldier, and he had just blatantly admitted that he was going to kill Feyly.

Lilythae had just cause to beat the ever-loving shit out of him, and though she reveled in that fact she also had a little voice screaming in the back of her mind that this was a terrible idea. If she started up more drama – here especially – there would be consequences, but right in that moment she wasn't too inclined to care.

Torin had pissed her off. He'd threatened one of her only friends with a death as humiliating as it would be painful. She had a witness.

She was going to destroy him.

"Lieutenant." Torin said uneasily, staring hard at her flashing mana. "Are you sure you want to do this? The temple is at a disadvantage enough. Do you really want to take another soldier out of your dwindling ranks?"

"Believe me." She snarled. "I can absolutely make do without _you._ " And with that, Lilythae sped forward.

 **/*\**

 **Again, so sorry it took me so long to update. Things happened, and I much prefer to make a slower, better written update than to give you something half-assed just to keep up with whatever pace I'd set for myself. If you liked that chapter, leave a review!**

 **-Statyck**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey. Sorry I took so long to update. I had finals. And then I had to recover.**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

Lilythae charged in a flurry of fel energy, but before she got even a step ahead someone grabbed her by the leather strap on her harness. They hauled her backwards, and she struck out at her attacker. The glaive was wrenched from her hand, and she found herself faced with… Illidan. Of course it was Illidan.

"What is going on here?" He asked, his voice giving nothing away. He released her, and made a point of standing between her and Torin before looking to the lower-level soldier.

"He admitted to abusing one of the consorts, my lord." Lilythae swiftly answered before Torin could even open his mouth. "I saw it fit to dispose of him." Illidan looked back to the man.

"Is this true?"

"Not at all, my lord." Torin said. Illidan raised an eyebrow.

"Then what happened?"

"If I may weigh in," Rayne swiftly interjected, "he made the admission to me. Lieutenant Lilythae was standing right there and heard him."

"I see." Illidan answered. "So you mean to say he's lying?"

"He is–" Lilythae began.

"I was not speaking to you." Illidan hissed before turning back to Rayne. Lilythae stood there, her eyes narrowing. Oh. So _that's_ how he wanted to play this. Lilythae was weighing the pros and the cons of vocalizing her displeasure when Illidan's voice boomed in the hall once more.

"I do not appreciate having to settle disputes as though you are children." He snarled, glaring down at Lilythae. She remained silent. "However, if there's anything I like less, it's being lied to." His gaze flew over to Torin. "Leave. Now. Before I change my mind."

Torin vanished before everyone's eyes. Immediately Illidan whirled back on the Den. He instructed a guard to go get Kor'lei, and he marched off in the direction of the baths. The lieutenant did her best to retain a neutral expression until he was gone. Rayne came up to her.

"Not to be rude Lieutenant," he started, "but was that really the best idea?"

"Probably not." She said. She turned and found Marhail observing the scene alongside the servants. She promptly marched back up to Marhail's apartment, where the concubine had beckoned her to return after all the commotion had died down. Lilythae was quick to take the offer, and leave Rayne to his own devices.

"Why did you do that?" The consort inquired, the sounds of playing children coming from the bathroom. It seemed they hadn't noticed the little episode outside. Lilythae sighed.

"I thought there was a problem I could solve. It seems I was wrong." She said. Marhail considered her a moment, before gesturing for her to walk to the other side of the room. With her brows furrowed, Lilythae followed and sat down at the table where the servants had set the food.

"What have you had to eat today?" The concubine said. Lilythae blinked and chuckled, averting her gaze. She supposed she looked pretty embarrassed.

"I had a small pastry this morning. I haven't wanted to eat since that tea." She grimaced, doing her best to hide the shudder. Marhail sighed, and poured the lieutenant a glass of wine.

"If I could apologize in place of Kalyne, I would." She said.

"So it was Kalyne who tried to orchestrate my death." Lilythae stated, swirling her wine, entirely unsurprised.

"Who else?" Marhail remarked. "But please, take whatever you'd like. There's tons of food here. Just make sure to leave some for the girls." She smiled and walked away towards the bathroom, where the demon hunter could hear her informing their guests that there was food.

Lilythae let her head fall limp after taking a sip from her glass. The horns felt heavy on her head, her limbs were positively sore, and she couldn't help but wonder what the consequences of her little outburst might be. That being said, it was pretty hard to keep her focus off the food. Once the delicate smells hit her nose she realized she was starving, and it didn't help that the food itself looked amazing. Or maybe it just looked that way because she was hungry. Roasted quail, spice bread, hellboar bacon, bloodthistle soup, and a variety of other things sat on the table. That bowl of cherries looked particularly yummy. There were several more bottles of wine that she and Marhail could have chosen from, as well as choices of milk or water for the little ones.

Lilythae sighed and looked towards the bathroom. The girls bolted up to the table, analyzing everything with a mixture of curiosity and hunger. Marhail trailed slowly behind and though she knew the concubine had spoken to her, Lilythae hadn't heard anything.

She was too busy wondering if Marina would have looked more like Aelelia or Va'lyn.

/*\

Feyly did her best. She tried to get back to her chores, to resume her duties with as much grace and elegance as she could muster, but it didn't work. No matter what she did, or rather didn't do, she couldn't get the eyes off her back. Several people had known what Torin had been doing, but they knew that there was nothing they could do about it. There was no proof.

But now there was.

Feyly had people telling her how great this was. Lilythae absolutely adored her and would do anything for her. She wasn't even a fuck buddy, she was a genuine friend. Lilythae would be able to fix this. That was what the other girls in the Den told her, reassuring her that Torin would not be back any time soon but she knew better.

Men like Torin didn't just back down. Even if he'd confessed in the heat of the moment, he'd still find some way to twist this and pin it on her.

Torin was going to kill her, and though she had her own set of powers she wasn't sure if she could stand up to a demon hunter. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she ripped the sheets off of another bed. She did her best to hide it, but someone tapped on her shoulder. She just about jumped out of her skin, and there was Rayne.

"Oh, hello Rayne." She said, trying to put on a cheery expression. After all, she had to appear happy and willing for the men and women who _didn't_ abuse her. He only frowned.

"You're crying. Did he hurt you?" He asked. Feyly shook her head.

"No, not this time." She answered, sounding somewhat relieved. His face turned downwards, and his pale eyebrows furrowed.

"Then what's that?" He said. Feyly looked down. There were small bruises on her hips where Torin had grabbed her, deep violet outlines of his fingers, visible over her skimpy silks.

"Oh." She murmured. "I didn't realize he did that." Feyly felt her own brows tighten together. Had she become so desensitized to Torin's claws that she actually hadn't noticed? Apparently. The thought worried her. She had been promised a life of comfort and safety. She hadn't been strong enough to be one of the demon hunters, and they had promised to not only protect her but all the other women who lived here as well. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Here," Rayne said, "I'll fix it."

Almost immediately Feyly could feel the soothing healing magic eating away at the bruises. It felt warm and sweet, as this sort of magic was meant to. This was more natural and correct than Torin's backtracking. Rayne's magic offered comfort and affection, where Torin's talents had been cold and detached. It fixed the wounds but left her chilled and uncomfortable. Yes, she liked Rayne's abilities much better. Feyly let a small smile spread across her face.

"And what can I do to reward such a kindness, hmm?" She asked flirtatiously. Immediately Rayne returned the gesture with his own fanged grin.

"I can think of several things." He stated. "But not tonight. I think you need a little time to relax. I don't want you to feel overstressed."

"Thank you." Feyly said, her lips parting incredulously. "That's very kind of you, but I don't think very many of the others would let me be. After all, after that little scene I'm the talk of the Den." She muttered, glaring at the ground.

"Then let me spend the night with you. Nothing strenuous, just you getting some sleep."

"Are you serious?"

"I just got a promotion. I'm not as high up as your lieutenant friend, but I am allowed to request an entire night."

"And you'd be willing to waste that on someone you won't even be sleeping with?" She pressed, crossing her arms. He only shrugged. "Well if you're certain, I'm definitely willing to take that offer. Let me see if I can't find someone to take this over."

Just then one of the other consorts came rushing up. The little blood elf was panting, shoving mousy brown hair out of her glowing green eyes.

"Feyly," she coughed, "I'm so sorry to bother you, but Kor'lei and Illidan have both requested your presence down in the spring." Feyly stared at her, eyes wide and jaw dropping to the floor.

"Whatever for?" She asked incredulously. The blood elf just sighed, her eyebrows drooping.

"I don't know. I was instructed only to let you know and take over whatever duties you were attending to." She explained. "I'm sorry, but I have no other information."

Feyly glanced over to Rayne, who only shrugged. She turned back to the other girl and offered up the hamper.

"Well, I guess I'd better go. It's probably not a good idea to keep them waiting." She murmured. She looked up to Rayne again. "Be here when I get back?"

Rayne took her hand and lightly kissed the knuckles. He reassured her he'd be right there when she returned, waiting.

/*\

Lilythae heard the mumbling before anyone else, but Aelelia spoke first.

"Belrii?" She said before quickly leaping from her chair, her dinner forgotten. Marhail seemed like she was about to scold the little girl before Lilythae put her hand up, commanding the concubine's silence. Aelelia plainly needed to see with her own two eyes that the draenei would be alright. She hadn't quite believed it before, when Belrii would not awaken. Now though?"

"Where are we?" A small voice asked, the Thalassian heavily accented and a little broken. Aelelia giggled.

"You're not gonna believe this." And quickly Aelelia delved into the story. How the demon hunters had found them and brought them back to their fortress. How almost everyone had been really nice to them and fed them yummy food and let them have a bath. She then stopped and fell silent.

"I haven't seen their boss though." The little elf mused. "But Va'lyn did! Someone translated for us like you were doing. She said he was really scary! He's got hooves and wings and really sharp teeth like a shark. He's really big too. She said he made the demon hunter lady look really tiny." The draenei looked up, confused.

"Hello." She greeted uneasily. Lilythae nodded in greeting.

"Good morning." She dryly responded. "Are you feeling better?" Slowly the girl nodded, before swinging her leg around to inspect the hoof. She muttered something in draenei and Aelelia giggled. The blue girl looked up again.

"Thank you." She said. "My hoof isn't red anymore. That makes me feel better."

"Good." Lilythae answered. "That was the goal. Are you hungry?" She gestured to the table, and the draenei lightly sniffed the air.

"That smells good." She stated cautiously.

"It tastes good too." Aelelia excitedly interjected. "You should have some. There's soup if you still don't feel good." Quickly the small elf pulled the draenei over to the table. The girl's tail swayed as she tried to keep her balance, and she sat down. The little blood elf quickly put a bowl of soup in front of her face, and eagerly watched as the draenei sipped broth from the spoon. The girl turned her blue gaze up at Lilythae, and the demon hunter patiently stared back until Belrii spoke.

"Are you the woman who saved us?" She inquired. Silently, Lilythae nodded.

"I am."

"What's your name?" She pressed.

"Lilythae." She answered, smiling.

"May I ask you a question, Lilythae?" The draenei said. The woman nodded.

"Go ahead."

"Why is your voice echoing?" She asked, her eyes wide and innocent. Marhail wore a vaguely amused look on her face, but Lilythae only smiled.

"Because of the demonic energy in my body." She answered. "As you can see, it altered me. I have horns and wings. My eyes are a little greener than the average blood elf. The voice is just another side effect." The girl nodded seriously, as though she were giving Lilythae's words a great deal of thought.

"Hmm…"

And then the draenei fell silent. Lilythae had already finished her dinner, and sipped at her wine as she watched Aelelia chatter to and fuss over her friend. It was actually very sweet to watch. These two were far away from home and trapped with strangers. They were incredibly young – Aelelia herself still hadn't quite outgrown her silver baby hair – but they took consolation in each other's presence. Through all this, they still had each other and that seemed to be how they were treating the situation. As long as they had one another they could make it through.

Lilythae let her gaze slide to Va'lyn. She was by herself. Yes, she'd made it out with the other two, but she was far tenser than either Belrii or Aelelia. She was not close with them the way they were close with each other. She was surrounded by enemies where her two compatriots were a little more familiar with the sin'dorei, having come from Shattrath City.

Lilythae had a thought.

"Va'lyn. You said that the blood elves made you a little uncomfortable, yes?" She asked gently. Va'lyn jumped in her seat and slowly nodded, her silver eyes trained cautiously on the demon hunter. "Would you like to be able to talk to one of the other night elves here?" The girl shrugged.

"I don't see the point. They're all demon hunters. I don't think I'd have very much to talk to them about." She said.

"Not all of them." Lilythae replied. The lieutenant let her gaze slip to Marhail a moment, but the concubine's face was carefully schooled into neutrality. _Well,_ Lilythae thought, _if she doesn't like this, too bad._

"What do you mean?" Va'lyn asked.

"There is a night elf woman here, a druid in fact. She never took on the demon hunter training. Would you like to spend some time with her?"

At that moment, Belrii's voice piped up again. This time Aelelia watched eagerly, as though she wanted to see the outcome of something.

"May I ask you another question, Lilythae?" She asked. The blood elf herself tilted her head, a little surprised.

"Go ahead."

"Why did you choose to become a demon hunter?"

/*\

It was almost midnight when Lilythae finally left the confines of Marhail's room. She found it strange that she was so exhausted. She'd slept almost all day, and she was tired all over again. She hadn't done hardly anything. She sighed as she stepped into her own room, and stripped off her clothes for the third time that day.

She was happy to collapse back into her fluffy blankets. As tempting as Marhail's bed had looked, it wasn't her place to use it. The kids would be sharing it, she thought the concubine had said, and she would be sleeping on some furs and pillows on the floor.

Lilythae pulled the blankets up over her head and sighed, letting her wings relax. She shifted onto her stomach and let the wing slide off the side of the cot. She sighed, and clutched her pillow harder.

Tomorrow was going to be a rough day, and not for any reason regarding the Illidari themselves. She had an errand she needed to run, something that no one in the temple could be permitted to know about. It was her issue and her issue alone, and an intrusion by anyone on this task would not be welcome.

Just a few weeks ago, the task would have been rather simple, but now was a little different. In the span of just a few days, she'd become the star of the temple. Everyone's eyes were on her now, and she still wasn't quite able to piece together why.

Actually, that was a lie. She knew perfectly well why. No one would have thought anything of Illidan's advances had it not been for Kalyne. Lilythae had never actually met Kalyne, but for some reason that woman had it in her head that Lilythae needed to die.

 _I suppose that's something else I need to do tomorrow._ The demon hunter thought idly. That was probably the solution to her problems.

Lilythae needed to set Kalyne straight. She needed to explain that there was nothing for the concubine to be worried about, and assure her that Illidan was entirely hers.

Lilythae didn't have the time or energy for this. She had far more important things to be worrying about, but it needed to be done.

/*\

Feyly nervously made her way down the stairs. Illidan had never called for her before. He hadn't been interested in a night elf like her. Though she hadn't the faintest notion what he'd been talking about, he said that she reminded him of someone. She wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but he refused to touch her. He wasn't interested, and though she'd never taken it personally his summons today unnerved her. He knew that the confrontation at the Den entrance had been about her. Her lord was many things, but stupid most definitely was not one of them.

As Feyly climbed down the last few steps, she was confronted by the sight of Illidan and Kor'lei sitting together in the bath. There was nothing exciting happening, but they both turned to look at her as she entered. Feyly hastily bowed.

"M-My Lord." She stuttered. "You called for me?"

"Indeed." His low voice rumbled. He beckoned for her to come closer with a single clawed talon. She hesitantly stepped forward, further into the light. He appraised her, and though he wore a blindfold she couldn't help but feel he was looking her in the eye.

Even Kor'lei looked interested, and that more than anything else made Feyly nervous. Instead of sitting back utterly uninterested and frustrated by the lack of Lord Illidan's attention, the concubine watched the spectacle with keen eyes. It was as though she were waiting for something, and that kind of curiosity could mean nothing good coming from a woman who was so easily bored by so many things.

"What do you need of me, my lord?" Feyly asked softly, folding her hands across her stomach.

"I need a favor from you." He answered, the echo of his voice almost sounding like a hiss against the stone walls. "You are close with Lilythae, correct?"

"I am, my lord."

"Excellent. Then you shall suit my plans quite well."

/*\

Kalyne paced her room, a pair of two other girls sitting at her feet. They were younger than she by maybe a century, and they wore silks with only one single gold chain as opposed to her twenty. They were unimportant, no one would notice them. They had power that her personal assistants did not.

Lilythae hadn't been meant to die, at least not that time. However, Illidan still seemed entirely too interested in her. Even in spite of her survival, she should have still been branded weak for not being able to overcome the poison. That being said, the night elves were familiar with the tea she'd used. They held an understanding of the plant that she did not, and Illidan had explained its purpose in full detail.

No, the moonflower tea had been nothing but a waste of time. However Kalyne had a new idea, and her two new "friends" were going to help her with it. Though the lieutenant was still a bit close for comfort, Kalyne had figured it out. Illidan had been highly displeased with her actions of the night. After she'd recovered, Lilythae had bolted out of the temple and then returned with some highly questionable guests.

The three little children were in the Den at this very moment, and Lilythae was going to have to take them home come morning. It would only be the lieutenant and a couple of other soldiers. Few people with a massive handicap.

As long as the two girls at her feet performed as expected, this should go without a hitch.

/*\

Kor'lei listened with interest. Illidan could not be permitted anywhere near Lilythae until after Mardum, and this gave her the perfect opportunity to mess with her Lord's plans.

Kor'lei was not a creature of adventurousness. She liked hunting, certainly, and she adored her pets but matters involving other people were not her concern. At least, not until after… _it_ happened. She wanted to join the Illidari, to harness their power and take her revenge, only to learn that she didn't have enough mana to become a demon hunter. As a beast master she'd barely used it, and as a result her body had produced less and less. If she tried to go through with the process she would have died, and so she took out her anger on the men and women who visited her within the confines of the Den.

She supposed that was why Illidan had taken an interest in her. He found her anger amusing, and though she found that to be darkly ironic for more personal reasons she couldn't deny that he'd offered her a position of incredible power.

Maybe she couldn't be a demon hunter, but she could take part in running the Den. That in itself could be just as valuable as the demonic energy that ran through his veins. She could not wield glaives, but she would have a modicum of control over the most specific and intimate hub of knowledge in the temple.

As she listened, her master became more and more transparent. Illidan liked to think of himself as dark and serious, a man of great purpose. At times he could most certainly be that, but more than anything else he loved to talk. He didn't do it much in the presence of his inferiors, when he had to appear imposing and mysterious, but he took great pleasure in enchanting his harem with pretty words and beautifully twisted tales. He narrated sagas of himself, of some of the more well-known adventurers of Azeroth, or even just traditional night elf folklore.

He was one of the loveliest storytellers she'd ever had the privilege to listen to, and though she would have preferred one of his stories now this was so much more important. Kor'lei didn't want to separate her master from the lieutenant. In truth, she might not have acted at all if the circumstances hadn't been so dire.

She wasn't sure what it was, but Kor'lei got the feeling that Illidan wanted Lilythae for reasons other than sex. She wasn't quite sure what those reasons were, but she knew that if something went wrong in any way before Mardum, the entire temple and everyone in it was screwed.

Feyly had a simple task asked of her, and Kor'lei mentally commanded her cat to follow the night elf to her little assignment. For a moment the concubine found herself with an odd feeling indeed.

Though she was very comfortably curled up into Illidan's side in the warm water, listening to him breathe as he idly stroked her hair, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. None of this had anything to do with Feyly, Kor'lei herself had never actually spoken to her. It didn't even really have anything to do with Lilythae either. The two women were just the unfortunate victims in the crossfire, and Kor'lei found herself feeling guilty for what she was about to do to the poor night elf who'd just left the baths.

Lord Illidan was so very unpredictable. She supposed that was why his enemies had yet to capture or kill him. One moment, he could be so very careful. He could spend weeks analyzing maps and battle plans, making intelligent decisions and taking into consideration every little thing that could go wrong. At other times, he could be like this. He could be passionate and impatient. He had no trouble vocalizing wants and opinions, and he was entirely too blunt. Instead of a concubine or a particular demon's head he wanted the most powerful woman in the temple, and when Illidan set his sights on a goal neither heaven nor hell could stop him.

Perhaps that was why Kor'lei had fallen so deeply in love with him. He could hold conviction where she was entirely lacking.

/*\

Aelelia had grown very bored very quickly. She wasn't interested in any more of Marhail's silly homework assignments. She insisted she was tired and that it was time for bed. After all, it was nearly midnight. On a normal day she would have gone to sleep long before now.

Marhail relented, and she was sent to bed alongside Va'lyn and Belrii. Her plan was working. She knew that Belrii had asked a really sensitive question, judging by the look on Lilythae's face as soon as the words left her friend's mouth.

Needless to say, the situation hadn't ended well. Marhail was quick to scold Belrii for asking the question and moved the conversation to safer topics, but Lilythae hadn't relaxed. In fact, the demon hunter had been rather quick to leave. To tell the truth, it only made Aelelia that much more curious and the same could probably be said for Belrii. The demon hunter vanished and they finished their dinner, and Marhail asked what they wanted to do.

"I'm tired." Aelelia had whined. "Can we go to sleep?" Beneath the table, the girl lightly nudged Belrii's foot with her own, and the draenei caught on immediately.

"I am a little tired too. I still feel kinda off." She mumbled. Va'lyn said nothing, just shrugging when Marhail asked – Aelelia assumed – what her preference might be.

"Well okay then." Marhail said, smiling. "Bed is a doable thing. You'll have to share it, but it's big enough that you all should be comfortable."

Belrii, being the polite draenei she was, said thank you first. Marhail tucked them in and asked if they wanted the lights to stay on.

"Just a little." Aelelia answered. "Like the lanterns outside the house."

"I like the lanterns on Scryer's Tier." Belrii murmured. "They're so pretty."

Immediately the lights were dimmed to something Aelelia found familiar. They were bright enough so that the three could see if they needed to get up, but it was dark enough that they'd be able to sleep easily. Aelelia was very pleased with the effect, and thanked Marhail accordingly.

It was difficult for the little elf to feign sleep. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so comfortable. The blankets were so soft they had to have been enchanted and the pillows were the fluffiest she'd ever stuffed her face into. Belrii periodically kicked her with her hoof, and Aelelia was sure to return the favor. They didn't want to sleep just yet.

It felt like hours before Marhail left the room. The three weren't sure what the rest of the Den was all about, but finding out wasn't their objective for the moment. Belrii had just woken up, and she was more than a little curious about their new surroundings. Aelelia had napped earlier, and so could afford to sacrifice a few hours of sleep if it meant she could explore and investigate undisturbed. As soon as the door shut behind the adult, Aelelia threw of the covers and prodded Belrii in the back.

"She's gone," she whispered, "let's check this place out."

Belrii jumped out of the bed, but instead of following Aelelia over to the bookcases she had circled around to look at Va'lyn. She poked at the night elf. The draenei said something in a language Aelelia could not understand, and the night elf responded in kind. After a few more words were exchanged, Va'lyn left the bed and looked at Aelelia expectantly.

"What did you tell her?" Aelelia asked. Belrii tilted her head.

"I thought she'd be curious too. Now what should we do first?" The horned girl answered. Aelelia grinned.

"Well I was thinking, you know how Marhail doesn't want to answer any of our questions?" She said. Belrii nodded for her to continue. "I was looking at the books on her bookcase, the ones I could reach, and noticed that they all looked kind of boring. School stuff. But she also has a lot of books near the top of the bookcase, stuff I've never seen before. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"…I think so." The other girl answered, before relaying the information to Va'lyn. Va'lyn raised an eyebrow and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously sarcastic. Aelelia tensed up.

"What did she say?" The blood elf asked.

"She said– um…" She paused. "She thinks this idea is stupid." Belrii said. Aelelia huffed turning to Va'lyn and adjusting the sleeve on her dress.

"Don't you want to know a little more about this place? They're obviously not telling us the truth. At least not the whole truth. Besides, think about the story we have to tell when we get home!"

Belrii translated for the blood elf, and though she couldn't understand a word Va'lyn was saying Aelelia could tell that she was nervous.

"But what if they catch us?" Belrii whispered. That was actually a good point.

"Then we get into a little bit of trouble. I doubt they'll hurt us. They were really nice."

"They might not be so nice if we do something they don't like." Belrii pointed out.

"I don't think so." Aelelia responded, entirely confident. "Lilythae plainly didn't like the question you asked her, and she didn't do anything."

Belrii had nothing to say to that. After a few moments of silence Va'lyn piped up, grabbing Belrii's attention.

"She says that we should start with the books near the very top of the shelf. If they don't want us looking at this stuff, then those books are probably the most important."

And so after some haphazard climbing, stacking of chairs, and letting Belrii stand on the two elves' backs they managed to find some very interesting tomes. It was difficult to read in the darkened light, and so the blood elf called up a spark of fire onto her finger – a little trick her mum had taught her – and lit the candles on the table. Aelelia studied the picture in the book intently, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. The words themselves were confusing enough, and the illustration simplified nothing. She thought that the picture was supposed to be of a man and a woman, but the limbs were so tangled and distorted that for a moment she couldn't tell.

She counseled the other two girls, and though Va'lyn explained a couple of different things Aelelia was still confused. She was so focused on what she was looking at, trying to figure it out, that she didn't even hear the door open.

"But how is that physically possible?" She wondered aloud. It was only when she looked up that she saw Marhail, a scandalized look on her face, and a man. A man who was taller than all of them put together, who had tattered wings nearly dragging the floor behind him, and enormous hooves that could crush her beneath their weight. She spied fangs like a sharks as he grimaced at the woman, and his fingers curled into claws. He was a frightening figure indeed and as he turned his face to look at Marhail, Aelelia couldn't help but feel worried for her new friend's life.

Maybe Va'lyn had been right. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.

 **/*\**

 **Welp, I tried to be funny. Not sure if it worked. I hope you liked it! And once again, sorry for making you wait so long!**

 **-Statyck**


	9. Chapter 9

**Been a little while but here's another chapter. If you like it, leave a review?**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

Lilythae awoke to the sound of banging on her door.

"Lieutenant!" A voice called. "It's time for us to go."

Reluctantly, the demon hunter slipped from her blankets and approached her wardrobe. She would have liked to sleep for just a few more minutes, on a normal day she'd have snapped at them to go away, but this was something that simply couldn't wait.

After all, as much as she'd enjoyed their company up until that one little question, she was sure that those three kids would like to go home. They probably wanted to see their families again, and their parents had to be worried sick. At least, Belrii's and Aelelia's probably were. Once upon a time Lilythae might have been capable of a little more empathy, but that wasn't important. They needed to go home.

She pulled on her skimpy robe, her tattoos glowing softly in the dark. She snatched her glaives from their simple wooden stand and quietly slipped out the door, locking it behind her. Her troupe was all ready to go. One man, one woman, and three small children. They all stood just outside her room, and the young ones were watching as the two adults argued with each other.

"I'm telling you, this isn't enough people for a mission like this." The woman hissed, unconsciously raking her nails down her arm.

"Relax," the man drawled, "our lord is a cautious man. If he only wanted there to be three of us, including Lady Bloodbringer, then I think it's not as bad in the valley as it was a few days ago."

"Lady?" Lilythae interjected wistfully. "I haven't been a 'lady' in a very long time."

The pair looked over to her, and the man – a red-headed blood elf – shrugged sheepishly.

"My apologies." He said. "You never noticed me, Lady Lilythae, but I remember you from Quel'thalas. You accompanied one of your sisters to my home in the middle of Eversong to heal my youngest brother. He'd have died without your assistance."

"Because he had a wound that needed to be cauterized. I remember that, Wynadore." She recalled. She paused. "Did he _survive_?" She gently inquired. Smiling sadly the man shook his head.

"No. But before it happened, I was still able to create a few more nice memories with him. So I'm still grateful for that."

"It was no issue, at the time or now." Lilythae said. "Now, let's get going shall we? I'm sure their families would very much like to see them returned."

But then, just as they prepared to start walking off Lilythae noticed something. Va'lyn was carrying a book.

/*\

Terrokar was usually a quiet and tranquil sort of place. Emerald light descended through the trees, light fog decorating the landscape. Though Shattrath City was a haven for many different types of refugees – Alliance and Horde alike – it was still far from perfect. Those not of draenei or blood elf descent often lived in the slums of the lower city, sleeping in tents and taking daily walks to the rivers to bathe and collect water. Yet it was still better than remaining in the warring territories that these people once called home. Though Shattrath was not a utopia in the slightest, it was safe. They would not be bombed in the night. Their children would not die at the hands of a foreign military. If the worst they endured was a short walk out into the woods for some food, then it was entirely worth it. They could have the divine privilege of knowing that their lives would not end any second.

That being said, the lower city was – for the time being – inconsequential. The two families who had scouts and peacekeepers scouring the forests were most certainly not occupants of the slums. No, a pair of Aldor had created a temporary truce with a pair of Scryers, as they both had the very same goal. They overcame their differences and pooled their considerable resources. They learned quickly that bickering and blaming would not solve the very real problem that had forced its way into their lives.

Belrii and Aelelia, two precious daughters of two prestigious families, were missing. It was supposed that they'd gone out to play in secret, against the parent's wishes. The blood elves knew that they sometimes went out to hide in the lush green forests, oblivious to the dangers of wolves and reptiles. The draenei insisted that they preferred to take the roads into Zangarmarsh where they could play in the water and chase small fireflies, uncaring of the larger bugs that might not be so docile.

Upon confronting each other at the Terrace of Light the mothers lashed out with accusatory words. The fathers did their best to calm the situation until one woman, the blood elf, lost the verbal battle. It hadn't taken long for her to break down, sobbing into her sleeves. She just wanted Aelelia back, safe in her house and uninjured. That was it.

It was then that the Naaru intervened. It scolded both sets of parents, explaining the faults of their decisions and the consequences. Their rivalry affected the lives of everyone around them, their children especially. They let their prejudices get in the way of a peaceful beginning between two people who had been taught to hate one another, and cared nothing for those teachings. It revealed that the pair had indeed snuck off into the forest, and that they had ended up even farther away.

They'd been captured, dragged into Shadowmoon. Demon territory. If they ever wanted to see their daughters alive again, they could not afford to waste time arguing. So they didn't.

The vindicators looked for any sign that they might have escaped and begun to make their way home, tracking and searching. The mages had begun to work their magic to track the children's mana, in the hopes of pinpointing their locations. A troupe of peacekeepers had come along as a sort of militia, in the event that actually entering Shadowmoon Valley became a necessity.

For the first time ever – of their own free will – the Scryers and the Aldor were working together.

/*\

As soon as they entered the barren wasteland Belrii's mother, Nareda, knew that she was there. That Aelelia was probably there with her. Something was incredibly wrong, and Nareda could feel the hair on the back of her neck prickling. She could feel her daughter's apprehension, her nerves. Nareda's holy magic allowed her to subtly keep in tune with Belrii's consciousness, in the event that something like this ever happened. For the first time in her life, she was ever so grateful that her mother had taught her how to create this magical connection. She closed her eyes and cast a spell.

Immediately she was someplace else. An extravagant room of sin'dorei aesthetic, decorated in rich shades of red, gold, and azure. Floating lamps doused the room in gentle light, in the manner of some of Belrii's nightlights. Aelelia was there, staring intently at a book by the fire of the several candles sitting on the desk. Nareda could feel it as Belrii made to take a step further, but she couldn't help but wince at the unexpected feeling. Something was wrong with her hoof and when she turned her gaze down she found a simple bandage, wrapped only once.

 _Nothing terrible then,_ Nareda thought to herself in relief, _barely any gauze and no blood. Just a scrape probably. It looks as though someone found them, is taking care of them._ Upon further inspection she realized there was another girl too, someone she'd never seen before. A young night elf. Nareda jolted.

In spite of everything she couldn't help but be surprised. In all her years of working at orphanages and in civilian hospitals, she didn't think she'd ever actually seen a kal'dorei child. It was then that another voice invaded her mind.

 _Mum?_ A small voice asked softly, uneasily. _Is that you?_

Just as she was about to respond, a slamming door caught Belrii's attention, flickering her gaze over to the side. Nareda could feel her heart freeze, terror overcoming her soul. Two people stood in front of her daughter. One was a very pretty blood elf woman, adorned in a plain silver dress and staring down at the three in horror, but right now that didn't matter. The woman's companion was far more imposing.

A tall shirtless man stood before her daughter, hooved and horned a little like they but with ears longer than any other race. Wings kissed the floor, and violent green tattoos shone angrily on his skin. Black hair hung down his shoulders, and as he grimaced at the trio Nareda felt her hear sink.

Though she'd never actually seen him before, she knew exactly who that was. That was Illidan Stormrage the Betrayer, self-proclaimed Lord of Outland. A monster who would sacrifice and torment anyone he chose, if he thought it could further his twisted purpose. And he was standing not five yards away from her tiny, defenseless daughter.

Just like that the vision ended and Nareda's fingers struck out, digging into her husband's arm.

"Go get the Duskfire's!" She exclaimed. "I know where they are. We have to hurry!" And just like that, she summoned her elekk and took off in the direction of the Black Temple.

/*\

Marhail was utterly mortified. Though he was technically blind she could feel it as Illidan's gaze bore down on her, silently demanding an explanation as he crossed his arms. Marhail had none, so she kept her attention on the three young girls. Though she tried to keep her emotions in check, her words still betrayed her.

"How?" She choked out. "How did you get ahold of those?!"

While Aelelia and Belrii shot panicked looks at each other Va'lyn stepped forward. She gulped, glancing sideways at Illidan through her hair, and addressed Marhail.

"We climbed." She answered simply. Before Marhail could get another word out, her master spoke.

"And how did you manage that?" Illidan asked. His voice rang loud and deep as always, but it also took on a sort of softness that Marhail had never heard before. "That case should have fallen down on you."

"Aelelia and I let Belrii stand on our backs." Va'lyn said, taking a moment to steel her shoulders at him. Though it was obvious that she was quite a bit spooked by the Lord's appearance, she did not want to let them see it. She was doing her best to be brave where the other two huddled down together, too frightened to do anything. Marhail felt a pang in her chest as she watched. Illidan raised a hand to his chin. He tilted his head at the girl, almost appearing puzzled.

"I see." He said after a moment. Slowly he crouched down, to look Va'lyn in the eye. "Have you ever received magical training?" To this, the little girl's eyebrows knitted. To be fair, Marhail was a little confused by the change of subject as well. But Illidan never did anything without a reason. She would just have to trust him.

"No." Va'lyn said. "There…wasn't enough money to send both my brother and me to school."

"So your brother attends school and you don't?" He pressed, but his voice had grown no harsher. It remained tranquil, calm in spite of the fact that he was plainly displeased with her words. The girl began to fidget and toy with her sleeve, averting her gaze. She almost looked ashamed.

"He wanted to be a druid. Our parents were really proud." She stated, so softly that they almost didn't hear her. Almost. Illidan huffed and stood back up. He still did not address the situation they had walked into, instead making his way to the bookcase and examining Marhail's collection. After a moment of searching he pulled something down, his talons gentle on the leather cover. He gingerly offered the tome to the girl, careful not to actually touch her.

"Try this." He said. "It's a good starting point." And with that he left, Va'lyn clutching the book to her chest. She stared after him, both pensive and perplexed. Marhail herself was utterly baffled.

As soon as the door shut, Marhail whirled on the other two. Though that little scene with Illidan had most definitely been interesting, she hadn't forgotten them. They were desperately trying to hide what they'd been looking at, and the concubine was not impressed.

"So," she drawled, "you were sleepy hmm?"

"We were curious." The blood elf pouted. Marhail crossed her arms.

"Didn't your parents teach you that it's rude to snoop through other people's things?"

/*\

Illidan very much needed a moment to himself. In less than twenty four hours the temple had descended into complete chaos. The little ones were on their way out – as they should be – but a quick talk with Marhail put him in a much better mood.

It shouldn't have pleased him to send the kal'dorei girl off with a spell book, but it did. Probably because he knew exactly how she felt. Even when he'd been learning of the arcane arts night elven society had begun to frown upon it, question its purpose in their civilization. He could only imagine what became of the old academies after one of the most powerful sorcerers – him – defected. The thought made him wince.

They had probably done their best to discredit them. Kal'dorei mages still existed but they were not revered the same as the rest of Azeroth. They were becoming scarcer and scarcer, because the arcane was no longer considered an admirable aspiration. At least that's what he assumed. The last time he'd actually come face to face with a mage of his own race had been before he lost his eyes. It was part of why he'd been more than happy to embrace the sin'dorei within his ranks. They understood the true value of magic.

In spite of the fact that her very existence was something to be grateful for, that little girl would never be put first. Not as long as she wanted to study something that the night elves found to be of mediocre or unimportant class. Though he wasn't sure if she had any interest in the arcane arts, he could see the bright blue glow emanating off her. She had an incredible potential for magic, and if she became good at it…

Well, then she might be a sort of arcane redemption for his people. Or he was just letting himself fantasize a little too much. Either way he felt she deserved a chance, the opportunity to learn a little bit about magic and what she could do with it. It would be such a waste to let that kind of potential just sit there, untested.

But it didn't matter anymore. She was no longer in his temple, and therefore no longer his concern. He could focus on the important things now, like finishing up the preparations for Mardum. Everything was set into place but for a few details, and he wanted to get them sorted as soon as possible.

First and foremost, he needed to find out what happened to the last supply run. The soldiers were nearly three days late, and if they didn't get the rations or the weapons then they could very well be screwed. He got some of Kael'thas's mages to try scrying, but there was different magic resisting them. He'd tried to scry himself but his luck hadn't been much better.

Something was blocking them, something very powerful. Illidan didn't like the implications this left. First, someone attacks the temple. Whether it had been some kind of test or merely a hot-shot adventurer's faulty planning, he didn't know. Next, those little children. They had caused a great deal of disarray in the Den and ended up disrupting its workings by distracting the workers. An unexpected disadvantage in his home. Now there was something in Shadowmoon that was powerful enough to block even his magic from seeing what had happened to his team.

It was far too perfect for it to be coincidental.

/*\

The walk through Shadowmoon had been quiet thus far. Lilythae and her squad had yet to run into any demons. They had been able to skirt around them, and Kael's men wouldn't dream of attacking them. There were a few safe points where they could stop to rest or get food should they need to.

The three girls looked very tense. They glanced anxiously around, clearly uneasy with the idea of being back in the valley so soon. Lilythae couldn't say she blamed them, after all their escape had been perilous. Belrii had nearly turned into a demon, and had it not been for the fact that the lieutenant had arrived at just the right time they would have probably all died. They weren't stupid. They knew that, and they were frightened.

Lilythae had been so preoccupied with scanning their surroundings, making sure nothing dangerous was near, she didn't notice that Aelelia had sped up to walk beside her. The little girl poked her arm and the demon hunter whirled, startled.

"Is something wrong Aelelia?" Lilythae asked. The girl shook her head.

"No. I just wanted to know if I could walk up here with you."

Lilythae glanced around again. Well, nothing had gone wrong thus far. They were up high on an Illidari trail, above most of the demons, but it would still be unwise to let her guard down.

"Sure," she said slowly, "but stay partially behind me. If something happens, better I get hit than you."

"Okay…" Aelelia said, her eyebrows knitting together just a tad. Lilythae could hear Belrii animatedly talking to Va'lyn about something, but what she wasn't sure. A glance back showed the night elf actually smiling, nodding along with whatever the draenei was saying. It seemed that Belrii had noticed Va'lyn's reluctance to speak, to interact. She was uncomfortable in her own skin it seemed, and the draenei was offering comfort. However it didn't seem as though Aelelia was upset with that.

"So what's up?" Lilythae asked, after getting back on track and beginning to walk some more.

"Well if we're talking about up," Aelelia remarked, "I'd say the sky. The sky looks funny here. It's daytime but I can still see the stars." She mused.

Lilythae couldn't help but to snort in amusement before glancing back and responding.

"I mean, did you want to talk about anything? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good." A pause. "Your boss isn't as scary as Va'lyn said. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed."

"Is that so?" Lilythae asked. Immediately any and all humor left. Though she continued to walk she could feel her blood freeze and a sort of dread filled her instead. Aelelia didn't find Illidan frightening? He'd gone to the effort then, and that did not bode well.

"Yeah. I mean he looks a little funny, but so do the rest of you." She said absentmindedly. "No offense of course." She tacked on hastily. Lilythae did her best to grin.

"None taken. When did you get the opportunity to meet Lord Illidan?"

"Last night." Aelelia said. "I was trying to be sneaky. I wanted to explore." To this, Lilythae cheeks heated instantly. A brief look back told her that she was not the only one. The other two demon hunters had heard what Aelelia said, and they both appeared just as mortified.

"You went into the Den?" The woman – Cyala – asked in a strangled voice.

"No." Belrii said. "We figured we'd be seen, so we read Marhail's books instead."

The sigh of relief was almost tangible.

"The ones at the very top of the shelf that she obviously didn't want us to get to. I'm still not sure what was going on in those pictures, but whatever." Aelelia added, shrugging. "But yeah Marhail walked in and caught us, and your boss was with her. He looked really angry at first and I was a bit scared that he'd do something, but then Va went up to talk to him. I have no idea what she said, but we didn't get in trouble and Marhail didn't die. He gave Va that book and left. So that's something."

"…Did he now?" Lilythae said, a little unsure how to respond. The entire conversation had come out of left field. Yet in the back of her mind something felt off.

They had been talking a little louder than they should have, and still nothing had taken notice of them. She could see the demons just ten feet below her. There was no way they couldn't hear them, but they didn't seem to care that there were enemies – vulnerable ones at that – traversing the valley. It was like they weren't quite aware that the group was even there. Something definitely wasn't right, but for now that seemed to be working in their favor. Should she really be worried?

 _Yes._ She decided. _Something most definitely should have noticed us by now._ That was when Lilythae realized it.

It wasn't that the demons hadn't taken notice. They knew they were there. The small group had been _allowed_ to proceed this far. The demons had been ignoring them, and as that realization dawned on her she noticed something else.

They were now surrounded, and a felguard with his hound had turned in their direction. It stared at them, weapon in hand, waiting.

Oh no.

/*\

Feyly despaired the thought of doing as her lord had asked her, but she couldn't dream of refusing either. Refusal would mean death, but going through with his orders could mean losing one of her closest friends.

She was to worm her way even closer to Lily. She was to help him get the lieutenant into his bed, and to do that she would have to betray the other woman's trust.

That being said, Feyly had an idea as to why Lord Illidan was behaving this way. There was no way he was actually in love with her. Such a notion was far too…normal. Innocent. It didn't suit Illidan outside of his rantings of Tyrande, and even then his mutterings never struck her as love. It was more of an unhealthy obsession, and now it seemed that he'd transferred that obsession to someone closer. Someone he had better access to.

Feyly hadn't known Illidan before his eyes were removed. She hadn't even been born yet, so she didn't know how much of this obsession was him and how much was the fel blood that ran through his veins. That being said she _did_ know a little bit about demonic behavior and anatomy. She made sure she knew, before making the decision to try and join the Illidari. She wanted to know exactly what she was signing up for, and in doing so she gained a very particular insight into the demon hunters and why they were the way they were.

She thought she might know how to solve this problem.

The only question was how to obtain the resources.

/*\

Kor'lei stood shocked. She hadn't thought to anticipate this. The cat had returned with a note, decorated in delicate handwriting. The tiger carried the scroll in his mouth, staring up at his mistress expectantly. The concubine deftly took the piece of paper, absently offering up a whole quail in its place.

The tiger stole its treat away to a hidden corner of the room, and Kor'lei untied the ribbon. She couldn't decide if the message was a challenge, or an offer of assistance. Feyly had no desire to cater to Lord Illidan's desires. She was not of his harem, and he had never spoken to her before this night. He wanted her to, essentially, violate her best friend and as she read Kor'lei could certainly understand the night elf's trepidation.

As much as she loved her lord, she understood that there were people who didn't quite feel the same about him as she did. While that was fine with her, she also had to take into account that people might be a little critical of him and his choices. Leaders could not please everyone. All the same, Kor'lei agreed that Illidan was not in his right mind at this moment.

Perhaps she should take this to Marhail? She discarded the idea almost as soon as it came to her. Lately Illidan had been keeping company with her. She didn't think he was sleeping with her, but all the same: Marhail had become his confidante. She wasn't emotionally invested in him the way that Kor'lei or Mirveda were. In fact in all the time that Marhail had lived in the den, she'd ended up being more like his therapist than his concubine. Though Marhail claimed to want to separate him from Lilythae, her actions seemed a little off center. Kor'lei didn't think she could trust her.

Helia? No, that probably wouldn't work either. Helia was a very passionate and vocal person. She wasn't good at keeping secrets, and Kor'lei was worried enough that their little plot would be exposed the moment Illidan decided to pay her a visit. If he decided to, that is. Again, he wasn't spending time with any of them. He was preparing for Mardum, and when he wasn't doing that he was brooding or bathing. Her lord absolutely loved baths.

That was when Kor'lei had an idea. She wasn't sure if it would work, but it was a thought. _No,_ she thought to herself, _I won't get any of the others involved with this. They weren't there in the baths tonight._ So instead of consulting one of her fellow harem members, she stuck with the simplest solution.

Kor'lei strolled over to her table and stole a fresh piece of parchment from the corner. She picked up her quill and wrote fast enough to leave lines across the paper. Feyly would have to do as her accomplice, but if that was going to happen then Kor'lei needed to give her an incentive.

If Illidan found out, Feyly would be at risk of execution. There was no way she wanted to die over something as trivial as Lord Illidan's lust. No, Kor'lei would have to offer her something good indeed.

If they got caught and Illidan confronted them, Kor'lei would have to take responsibility. She was responsible anyways. She was the one who ordered the servants to adjust the level of moonflower tea. She was the one who confronted Marhail after they both tried and nearly failed to mess with Kalyne's plan.

She was the one who had put arrows through the hearts of two girls who were off to do Kalyne's bidding. Who had only agreed because they were both afraid of what the self-proclaimed Queen would do to them if they didn't.

Kor'lei was absolutely responsible for just about everything that had transpired thus far, and for the first time in her life she was going to face the music. She wouldn't run, not this time.

She was as proud as she was terrified.

/*\

When Illidan caught wind that Lilythae had returned, he was relieved. He wasn't through with her, not just yet. He'd ordered one of his servants to retrieve her, only to find that same servant at his door just a few minutes later entirely empty-handed.

Lilythae, and the other two demon hunters as well, were both terribly injured. They hadn't made it halfway across the valley before they'd been attacked by vast numbers from all sides. Retreating had been their only option.

So not only did he have a wounded lieutenant on his hands – the woman meant to lead the attack on Mardum no less – but there were still three very young children in his very dangerous temple.

/*\

This time when Lilythae awoke, Feyly was there to see her. No Emerald Dream, no dead husband, just her best friend. Lilythae let out a weak chuckle.

"I've nearly died twice in the past twenty-four hours." She said. "That's got to be some kind of new record for me."

"Eh. Even if you actually died, it's not like we don't have healers here. I could probably revive you if I tried hard enough." Feyly remarked. Lilythae sat up.

"I can't believe how stupid I was." She said, sighing. "I should have been paying better attention."

"Probably." The night elf conceded. "But it was still a really weird circumstance. Why didn't Lord Illidan send more people with you?"

"Because he thought I'd be able to handle it. I should have been able to handle it. I failed."

"I don't think so." Feyly said. "You're only one person–"

It was then that someone else burst through the door. She was young, one of the consorts, and she looked quite harried. Her hair was mussed, as though she hadn't had time to tidy up after finishing a particular chore. Her silks had been thrown on haphazardly, her breasts were still entirely exposed. Her face was flushed, and her deep green eyes reflected complete terror. But the thing that told Lilythae something was wrong, that was the blood leaking through the girl's fingers as she clutched her arm.

"Lilythae!" She squeaked. "Please help! We're being attacked again!"

The lieutenant wasted no time throwing off her covers and snatching her glaives. She turned to Feyly and instructed her to see to the other girls wounds. Feyly had once been a druid. Healing hadn't been her forte, but she knew more about that kind of magic than Lilythae.

"I'm going to send the survivors to the barracks, be ready!" She announced, before heading out into the Sanctuary of Shadows.

Already, corpses littered the floor.

She made to follow the trail of bodies when a tiny scream caught her attention. Lilythae's head snapped to the side, and what she saw made her vision go red.

There was a group of about three men, two humans and a dwarf, standing over the consort. There was a gash on her calf, preventing her from running, and tears streamed down her face as a fourth man crouched over her – an elf of all things. He chuckled as he unbuckled his belt.

"Oh stop that." He teased. "You service demons. Why not me?"

She only sobbed harder.

Lilythae couldn't take it anymore. She had been angry enough for the past few days, but now? She had been thwarted with Torin and this was her breaking point. Even before the Illidari she hadn't tolerated men like that.

Today was no exception.

 _Destroy them._ A hissing voice in the back of her mind told her. _They wish to harm your own. Show them the true meaning of suffering._

For the first time since she became a demon hunter, Lilythae let her power explode.

 **/*\**

 **Hello again. This chapter isn't nearly as good, but I wasn't quite sure what I should do with it. Sorry! :x**

 **P.S. That pun in the comments though. xD**

 **-Statyck**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sometimes I really like this story, and sometimes I really hate it. I'm sorry I took so long, I got stuck. And then real life happened. And then FF wouldn't let me log in to update. DX**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

The dwarf looked at his companions, absolutely horrified. Raiding the Black Temple was one thing. To defeat the man who was terrorizing all of Outland, killing off his lieutenants, even taking his treasure for themselves: all that would be noble and correct. There were even bounties on the heads of all their higher-ups, their deaths were encouraged by the naa'ru themselves.

It was made even more impressive by the fact that the Black Temple was a fortress of the highest caliber. The malformed elf had set it up very intelligently. He had demons at the front outside, monitoring everything, and a mixture of more demons and naga just behind. Just to get into the temple alone they needed help from the broken draenei inside, and would have to sneak in through a little crack in the wall because the enormous structure was so well defended.

After that they'd have to traverse the sewers full of naga and hydras and elementals. Then they had to traverse the training grounds, full of orcs and more demons. The infernal guarding the entrance was a terrifying force all in itself, but against twenty some-odd men, they'd managed to do it. The creatures carried valuable things, gems and the like, and to take the spoils of battle was all good and right.

But what the dwarf's companions were doing right now…this most definitely was not right. Once again, Illidan had been smart. He put the demons in the front, and kept his people hidden away, as safe as he could figure. After killing off one of his lackeys, securing a key, they found someplace called the Den of Mortal Delights.

There was no questioning what went on in this section of the temple. Men and women stood around talking, or participating in more pleasurable activities in the many beds and couches that littered the floors. Demons – succubi and shivarra alike – patrolled the halls, protecting the more vulnerable elfin and a few human concubines. Enthralled guards came to their defense but were cut down quickly. Some tried to run, some tried to fight, but ultimately the women were either slaughtered or…this.

"C'mon lads!" The dwarf bellowed. "We've got the whole rest of the temple to conquer! Leave her be!"

Plainly the girl desired to be let alone. She looked positively terrified. Tears streamed down her youthful face as she tried to crawl away, the wound in her leg bleeding intensely. She was babbling incoherently in a foreign language, but it was clear: she was begging the night elf on top of her to stop, to not do this to her in spite of the chillingly comforting tone he used with her. And if that wasn't bad enough, the others _encouraged_ it.

The dwarf knew that the elven races aged differently, but this little girl didn't look to be any older than his own daughter. The human beside him scoffed when he protested.

"Oh please, she's probably experienced way worse. She fucks _demons._ Yoren will probably be the best she's ever had." The dwarf was prepared to argue, maybe even shoot the tall bastard with his rifle, when a loud shrieking caught their attention from behind. The girl had stopped crying.

Just before that horrifying scream, he saw the fallen concubine's face. Her expression, once fearful and anguished, glowed with hope. Her gaze had locked onto that very something behind them and she'd cried out a word – a name? – and when the dwarf turned he wasn't quite sure what to think.

Pure unbridled power swirled in the air, like mana but…not. It was darker, more sinister, poised to strike. It glowed with a malicious green tint, and it was plain that whoever wielded this power was not happy. From the darkness emerged a tall woman. Nothing but a few strips of cloth protected her modesty, and her over-long hair glowed the color of the morning snow in Dun Morogh. Her skin, too, was perfectly unnaturally pale, decorated with curving runes a gentle shade of violet.

The dwarf might have initially thought that she almost looked like one of the angelic val'kyr, avenging the bleeding girl at their feet. But she was not a minion of the Lich King. As she got closer the dwarf realized she was something far, far worse.

As she approached he caught sight of lavender-tinted hooves, lined with thick white fur that looked soft to the touch. Elegant horns sprouted from her head, curving delicately in the manner of his favorite ram. Leathery white wings stretched out from her back, and as she grimaced he spied her elven fangs. Her emerald eyes gleamed with murder, and the dwarf saw something else yet.

She wielded glaives. The insignia of the Illidari glowed green on the cloth between her legs. More than that though, the light was just right. A soft breeze blew her hair to the side, revealing – just for a second – a silvery crescent just on her shoulder, and the marksman felt his eyes widen.

A woman with this kind of power…with that type of scar…it could only mean one thing.

/*\

"Step. Away. Now." Lilythae hissed, and all but one of the men were quick to obey. She wasn't quite sure what to think right now. She was focused, but not. Angles were sharp, but colors were fuzzy and the only way to describe it was that she felt dizzy. Yet she kept her balance. She stared down angrily, gripping her glaives.

She had _grown_. For the first time since joining Illidan's forces Lilythae allowed the demon within to expose itself, to show off. She had always known that allowing the fel energy to surface would have consequences, but in this very moment the consequences would be far worse if she continued to repress it so strictly.

The scum at her feet trembled before her and rightly so. She supposed she was terrifying this way. It was a little difficult to keep her balance with hooves instead of toes, but she had adjusted swiftly. She could faintly register a tail, connected to her spine, swinging back and forth. Her body had changed in the most dramatic of ways, and as the men started backing away she wondered if her little show might be all that was needed to get rid of them.

Then the night elf stood up off of Mileena. He fixed the laces on his armor and he drew the sword off his back. A faint smirk twisted his lips and he spoke.

"You, demoness," he leered, "are quite the beauty. Would you, perhaps, be the leader of the succubi who roam these halls?"

"Darnassian is usually a very pretty language." Lilythae mused. "It's soft and lulling. Even the harshest of insults can sound sweet and inviting to a non-speaker. Yet from your mouth it sounds like the language of the imps. Do us all a favor and shut up."

"And from your mouth," the warrior countered, lauging, "it sounds lovelier than ever. You will certainly be a joy to conquer." He grinned. "Goat hooves and all." And then he charged.

 _This is different too._ Lilythae thought to herself, and indeed it was. It almost looked as though the warrior moved in slow motion. His steps took a few seconds too long to land on the floor. His expressions took comically slow transitions. His sword swung clumsily, lacking finesse. The demon hunter dodged easily, stepping to the side and watching the elf trip. She laughed as he nearly impaled himself.

"You won't win like that." She said. "You'll have to be faster." And with that she used her fel speed, ramming into the man at full force. The other night elf men in the temple were, on average, about a good two feet taller than her. In her newer, more terrifying form however the warrior seemed positively tiny. Lilythae wrapped her fingers around his ankle and threw him into a pillar, though not hard enough to kill him.

She wanted a moment to experiment.

Her newfound ability was positively exhilarating. Energy thrummed through her body, and though she still felt a little bit of that dizziness, she also found that she felt positively amazing _._ It was like an electric field on her skin. She was taller even than the naga, stronger than ten men put together, and too fast to even see. She was deadly. She was _invincible_. She smirked as the warrior got back onto his feet, the teal ponytail having come loose.

"For that." The warrior growled. "You will die."

"We'll see about that." Lilythae said. "My turn."

Fel energy loaned her power, and green mist swirling around the man left him coughing in mere moments. She darted around in circles, toying, playing. It was fun to leave odd scratches in annoying places, on his hands and his hips and his face. It was fun to watch as tears built up in his eyes, the fel irritating his skin. She was like a cat with a new form of bird. Her prey was shiny, interesting to her sharpened gaze. But she was overdoing it. She dove back in once more and dashed over a puddle – blood she assumed – and she slipped.

She fell to the ground, rolling back onto her feet quickly but she could practically hear the men's fists tightening around their weapons. Her little misstep had cost her dearly.

"And so the demoness slips up." The warrior sneered. "I suppose you're not so fearsome after all."

"You'll have to forgive me." Lilythae's voice boomed. "This is the first time I've ever taken this form. I'm still getting used to it."

"Then don't hold back. Let the real fight begin."

And with that, Lilythae was mobbed.

/*\

Mileena watched as a human man, a night elf, and a newly-shifted worgen assaulted the lieutenant. She was still winning. She threw the men aside easily enough, landing blows on whoever caught her gaze, but they only kept coming back. Sparks of light would randomly appear out of the darkness, healing the assailants. Lilythae noticed too, and she whirled around, searching for the healer but finding nothing. The look on her face….

Mileena could feel her blood run cold. Lilythae was scared.

The consort began to look around, trying to see if there was anything she could use as a weapon when she caught sight of the dwarf. He was standing right beside her, aiming his rifle. It looked as though he were aiming it at the lieutenant, but his hands were shaking.

He didn't want to shoot.

She approached carefully. There weren't many human women in the den, but there was one who had been willing to teach Common to any who would listen. Sarah. Most girls brushed her off, laughing that it was an unnecessary skill when they had so many night elves who could speak Common, but now was no time to be smug. Mileena did her best to calm herself and remember whatever words she could.

"Please." She choked, pulling at the leg of his pants. The dwarf jumped, startled, and looked at her. "My Common…not good. Please. Don't kill her. We not your enemies."

"I-" The dwarf started. His fist clenched. Where he was once hesitant, his mouth had contorted into a grimace. "You murder people. Women! Children!" Mileena shook her head insistently.

"No!" She said. She pointed to Lilythae. "Not since she showed up. No sacrifices in a year." A lie, but it might work. The dwarf paused and shook his head, unconvinced. She needed something else. Her mind raced. "Children _live_ here!"

It was then that the dwarf turned back. He almost looked serious, but ultimately the elf couldn't tell. He had so much facial hair, she couldn't make out his expression. He offered his hand and helped her onto her feet, letting her lean on his shoulder so as not to worry her wound.

"There are children here?" He asked. Mileena nodded her head.

"Two elf, one draenei. Very small." She held her hand out, demonstrating how tall they were. It was then that Mileena heard the sound of a weapon clacking to the floor.

No not a weapon. That was the sound of snapping bones. The lieutenant had thrown a man into to the ground beside her, breaking his back, and Mileena watched as he fell limp. His eyes glazed over in a look of eternal shock, and the head lolled back.

No amount of healing magic would fix that.

/*\

Feyly was overwhelmed. She had taken the wounded girl and retreated to the public parts of the barracks. She yelled down halls where she was, so that she could continue healing. It wasn't long until her power had been drained, but it seemed like there were still dozens of people in need of medical attention.

"Feyly!" Someone called, and when she turned she found the healers. A few demon hunters, a few concubines, all people who possessed natural or holy magic. Rayne stood among them and he kneeled next to her. He offered her mana-spiked water, and several gulps helped her exhaustion.

"Sorry." She muttered. "I can heal, but it was never really my forte."

"Then go. Fight. We need anyone who is able."

She didn't need to be told twice.

It had been ages since Feyly had let herself go. The transformation felt almost as foreign as the first time she'd ever done it, when she was still learning amongst the boughs of Shadowglen.

The darkness took hold of her and she stalked through the temple, analyzing the situation and trying to decide what to do next. There were sections of the temple that remained absent, places where the wounded could take shelter.

That was the duty Feyly took upon herself. She found a man whose foot had nearly been entirely taken off. She did what she could with her healing. There was no way she could fix it on her own, but she could prolong the time it took for the demon hunter to lose the limb entirely. There was a dead priest nearby. It seemed that the demon hunter had needed to take down the healer so that everyone else could clear out the enemies.

She retrieved the deceased human's staff, and the demon hunter was able to lean on it. Feyly shifted back into her animal form and began to lead him back towards the temporary infirmaries. She let him know when it was safe to continue. He followed her room to room. She was able to sneak up behind their enemies, rip their throats out in one fell swoop, but it didn't last forever.

Though she was an excellent druid, she hadn't utilized her powers for a very long time. She was rusty. It had taken mere moments for her to slip. Just as she finished up with a stray gnome and delivered the wounded night elf to the barracks, someone pounced on her from behind.

Another druid. Feral. And she had Feyly pinned to the ground. The large cat looked her up and down and growled. The cat stared down for several moments, and then raised a paw as though to strike. But she had taken too long.

Feyly sank her sharp fangs into the other woman's paw. The cat snarled in outrage before leaping off, allowing Feyly to get back on her feet. Both druids let out low growls, flattening ears and circling each other.

Feyly jumped first. She chased after the cat but she'd been too slow. The cat had the upper hand. Pale claws drenched in blood came for her in the darkened room, and it was very fortunate that Feyly had remained so extremely agile. That agility was the only reason she wasn't dead.

They dodged and danced around a while longer before the whitened cat stopped. She shot a derisive snort in Feyly's direction and abruptly vines ensnared her form.

She was trapped.

The night elf struggled and struggled some more. Thorns bit her skin through her fur and she yowled in displeasure. The cat strolled up to her, the tail flicking in agitation. It was only when the cat took her elfin form that Feyly let herself stop.

Oh no.

"So sister," the pale-haired woman said, "you still dabble in the forbidden arts?"

The wolf in the vines growled.

/*\

It was chaos outside. Marhail took one peek out the door and slammed it shut. She latched the bolts, lowered the wooden barricade. She even did her best to knock over one of her heavy bookcases in front of it. The temple was getting raided again, and this time it was even worse. The demons and naga snarled at their enemies, girls shrieked in terror as they were either slain or…Marhail didn't want to think about the "or."

She snatched her old gear from her wardrobe, dusty leathers that hadn't seen the light of day in what felt like ages. She was swift to change, and took comfort in the twin daggers that sat in her hands. It wasn't long until the pounding started. Men trying to break down her door, but Marhail was prepared. A tiny tug at her sleeve was the only thing that could have distracted her from her newly antagonized state.

"Are we going to die?" The draenei squeaked.

 _Oh Light,_ Marhail thought to herself. _I need to hide them._

"No, we aren't. Here." Marhail led the trio to her wardrobe. A small incantation revealed a secret door behind her clothes. "Go in the door and hide. Do not make a sound. Everything will be okay. I promise."

"You can't promise that." Belrii answered, before doing as she was told and ducking down into the miniscule hiding space.

Marhail had no idea how to answer. She was trying to think of a response when one final _bang_ sent splinters flying everywhere. She hastily closed the door, to the hiding space and her closet, and slipped into stealth mode.

"Let's see what we can find here!" Someone yelled, and someone else yelled back in a language she couldn't understand. In a moment a blood elf and a draenei entered the premises. They were both women, they both looked anxious, and they glared around the room.

They exchanged words in an unfamiliar language, draenei she thought, and they were quiet. They inspected the entirety of Marhail's bedroom. They checked the bookshelves, the tables, the vial racks, they even looked under her bed. They investigated the bathroom and glanced around the walk-in closet.

Thankfully, they overlooked the little wardrobe entirely.

They walked out, muttering agitatedly among themselves, and Marhail felt herself exhale in relief. They were gone.

It was at that moment she felt a knife at her throat.

"Hello little rogue." The voice whispered. "I don't remember seeing you with our party."

/*\

Illidan ravaged the halls of his own temple as though they were the worthless sticks and stones of the rest of the valley. They were being attacked. Again.

He knew that there was something more happening here. The realization hadn't hit him that long ago. There were higher powers at work here, attempting to thwart and destroy him. Needless to say he wasn't happy.

Men and women alike cowered in his presence, but there were also those who charged him gallantly. They wished to prove themselves to their allies – his enemies – and he cut them down with an indifference he wasn't used to.

The small fry were worth nothing to him right now. It wasn't like the foot soldiers would have any worthwhile information. His objectives lay elsewhere, and he needed to find the person who would know what he wanted to know.

He cut his way through the masses, assisting his people and destroying the others. None of them had what he was looking for. One broken, one beheaded, one missing an arm… _there_.

That body. The mangled draenei looked like little more than dogfeed in his deceased state, but he'd been wearing a uniform. A uniform from Shattrath City. A quick search of the corpse rewarded Illidan with a scrap of paper.

It looked like there had been orders written upon it, but the page had been ripped in half. Random words littered the scrap, but something caught Illidan's eye.

"Shattrath…Black Temple…the concubines...Weaken."

If he understood correctly, the troop had been sent to distract and weaken them further. They wanted to kill off the women, destabilize the demon hunter ranks by robbing them of their most intimate companions.

Illidan couldn't let this happen. The concubines were worth far more than just sex. Their role was to form relationships, deep ones, with the demon hunters. They offered not only companionship, but acceptance. To put it simply, they kept the Illidari sane and for many reasons.

The Den was probably the one part of the temple that they couldn't rebuild within a week. It would take years to get back what they would lose if it fell. If the people inside fell.

There was a reason it was the most cleverly and heavily guarded site within the fortress.

/*\

Helia and Kor'lei were fighting their way through the masses.

Kor'lei stood atop a table shooting poisoned arrows through heads and limbs. She quietly watched as her pet cat silently stalked the men who'd paused to partake in more unsavory activities. Helia was on the floor, a large hammer in her hand as she called down golden power from the sky. She made the intruders pay for their sins with their lives.

In minutes the enemy numbers had diminished significantly. Helia threw one last fireball and that was it. It was over, the intrusion on the Den at least. Mirveda returned from the hidden area of the baths.

"Helia!" She called. "We have ten dead and thirty-four wounded. We need healers."

"I'll be right there!" The paladin answered. "No one else will die tonight." She snarled under her breath. As the two vanished behind the stone door, Kor'lei turned back to the sounds of battle. Something was most certainly going down in the Sanctuary of Shadows, but first she needed to make absolutely certain that the Den was cleared. She crept down the hallway slowly, keeping an eye out for anyone who might be hiding or stealthed. They could not be too careful.

How were they getting into the temple? The entrances were so well-guarded. It was like they were portaling in or something, but that couldn't be right. They had some of the most powerful, most resilient wards in all of Outland.

Only something as powerful as the naa'ru would be able to break them. But they hadn't been broken. Kor'lei could sense the magic engulfing the building. As strong and present as always. They had gotten in from somewhere else, and the huntress did not like it one bit. Something was going on. In fact…

Given the circumstances, there should have been no other attacks. Though the temple itself had suffered terrible losses, not a single person from that raid had escaped. All the rogues and druids had been caught, tortured for the information they held, and killed when they had outlived their usefulness. By all means, Shattrath should have considered that invasion a brutal failure for their forces.

The only way they'd have sent out another squad on top of some rag-tag groups of mercenaries was if they knew what happened. If they knew the true extent of the impact they'd had on the temple they wouldn't hesitate to launch another, potentially more successful, assault. One that bore survivors to report back.

"By the Light." Kor'lei whispered, the revelation completely blowing her away. How could someone do this to them? "We've been betrayed."

"Indeed, Lady Riverspell." A heavily accented voice answered from behind her. She turned and found a draenei woman. A priestess, standing ready to fight. A spell just a word off from completion shimmering in her hands. Kor'lei whirled, pointing the arrow at the priestess.

"So you know then?" The consort spit out. "Lord Illidan will be happy to get his hands on you, and the information you hold, Nareda." The draenei woman let her lips part in a snarl, showing off fangs that rivaled the elves.

"Over my dead body." She hissed, and with one final word the spell was completed.

Kor'lei was thrown backwards, her ears ringing. Her vision had blurred and she felt dizzy. Her arrow sped past the woman's head, instead of right between her eyes. The draenei watched as the huntress stood up and tried to regain her composure.

The elf glanced up, and laughed. The draenei stood in a defensive stance, but it was too late.

Instead of a sickening green color, the new arrow glowed a vibrant shade of violet.

"I appreciate you giving me the mana," Kor'lei grinned, "but your gift is too generous. I'm going to have to insist you take it back." And the arrow was let loose.

/*\

Feyly's silver eyes narrowed as she stared up at her younger sister, forced back into her humanoid form.

"Just because some of us grew corrupt, it did not mean the rest of us had as well." She spat. "I was perfectly fine. _Kadia_ was fine."

"'Was'?" The other woman said. "Past tense. You're not fine now. You're a whore for those who inflicted demon-disease upon themselves."

"Well it's not like the rest of you gave me a choice now is it? You punished many for the mistakes of a few. You would have sooner burned me at the stake in a rabid witch-hunt than to listen to those of us who remained reasonable and sane. Look at me now Yvaine and tell me that I am nothing more than a savage animal, in spite of the fact that I am sitting here speaking to you. Rationally."

For a moment Yvaine said nothing.

"Ultimately it does not matter if we were right or wrong about the Druids of the Pack." She stated. "You now follow the Betrayer. Go to bed with him even. You are as traitorous as you ever were." The vines snapped and Feyly was able to stand. Tall and proud, she stared the younger girl down.

"Very well then. If you are so displeased, so dishonored by my very existence, strike me down. Here and now. I won't fight back."

In the blink of an eye a white cat had tackled her to the ground, but Feyly did nothing. She only lay there, staring deep into enraged silver eyes and snarling teeth.

/*\

Yvaine looked down at her sister with the primal rage that the wolf-druids were infamous for. Yet, Feyly didn't look angry. She didn't even look scared, though she positively reeked of fear.

Yvaine had dreamed of this day. The day when she'd finally find her wretched elder sister and put an end to her. Feyly had been given chances. Many more than she deserved. She did not choose to train as a different class, she couldn't even bring herself to become a cat: a form that was similar to the wolf in almost every way, with the only exception being that cat form was _stable._ She could keep her primal nature without losing control and she still didn't adapt. Feyly didn't have to give up life in Teldrassil. She could have worked within the rules and stayed with their family.

But then, wolves were loyal to their packs. And it had long since become clear that their family was not members of Feyly's pack. They had been banished, deep into the Emerald Dream never to awaken. Kadia included.

Yvaine had never wanted to become a druid. It had only happened because her parents had pushed her into it. In an effort to redeem the family name, to demonstrate that the younger sister could outshine the corruption that Feyly was so insistent on keeping and cherishing. And she did it. Yvaine had been at the top of her class. Had even earned the opportunity to train with some of the best druids the world had ever seen. She'd even had the chance to train under Malfurion Stormrage himself.

The only reason it had never come to pass was because the spirits knew that in spite of her talent, this was not a life she would have ever chosen for herself. Though she had accepted the nature of her power she had never come to be at peace with it. The spirits knew this. The Archdruid knew this. And so she remained. She had excelled, but would go no further. She was stuck.

If only Feyly had changed, if only she'd been reasonable, maybe they both could have been happy.

"Well?" The elder sister inquired. "What are you waiting for?"

Yvaine's claws trembled. Yes, before her was a traitor but this traitor was her _sister._ Yvaine growled unconsciously as her claws flexed. A little voice in the back of her mind berated her relentlessly. Feyly practically raised her. Though it was a trait largely downplayed by elven society, children were rare and her parents had ended up with three.

Feyly was so much more important than Yvaine wanted to admit. She wanted to be able to slit her throat, her revenge obtained. She'd be able to walk away and report home to her family, triumphant. Their reputation would be restored and maybe Yvaine could quit druidism, pursue her own dream. All that, and she only had to kill the woman beneath her. But that wasn't going to happen.

Feyly meant more to her than their parents. Even though she'd been young Yvaine still understood that what happened to Kadia had been terrible, even by their standards. But she had also been put to rest. Feyly had never shown the signs of corruption displayed by the other Druids of the Pack, but that was why she'd been offered the opportunity to change and continue to be part of night elf society. The kal'dorei had also been cruel to her, but not as cruel as she'd been to their family when she left. Yvaine shed her animal form and fell down on Feyly, tucking her head into her elder sister's shoulder. After all this, tracking her sister, the journey to Outland, buying her way into the raid. She couldn't do it. She had to know first.

"Why did you abandon me?" The girl sobbed.

Immediately she felt Feyly's arms wrap around her. She shushed and cooed the younger girl, petting the pale hair, and whispered that everything was going to be alright.

"I'm sorry." Feyly whispered. "I'm sorry I left you and Caedron, but I had to avenge her." Feyly's voice cracked on that final syllable.

"But there's nothing to avenge." Yvaine mournfully answered, sobbing. "She's at peace, asleep. I saw her while I was in training. She was happy. One little visit into the dream was all it would have taken. Why couldn't you stay with us?"

"You do not know the situation like the rest of us do."

"But–"

And that was when it sounded. A loud scream reverberated from another section of the fortress, and Yvaine was shoved up as Feyly jolted forward.

The elder woman whispered an unfamiliar name and turned back to her sister. She wiped away tears from Yvaine's face and looked her carefully in the eye.

"Listen. I know that this is not over but please give me the chance to explain to you how everything really happened. You owe me nothing but please, stay close."

 **/*\**

 **Again, I'm sorry I took so long to upload. I wasn't sure what to do with this. I hope you all are pleased with the turn the story took and that I made it a chapter worth waiting for! See you in chapter 11!**

 **-Statyck**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay so I was gone for a long time, and I am sorry. A lot of insane stuff happened. In the midst of a heavy college schedule, a job, a cancer scare, my BF visiting from across the country, and losing the progress I had on this chapter due to my computer breaking down, I did not get the time to write a whole lot. I'm hoping this semester will be better.**

 **Once again, I'm sorry – and I'm not dead – enjoy chapter 11.**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

Marhail did her best to keep calm. She wasn't expecting to get caught this quickly. In fact, she hadn't been expecting to get caught at all. She hadn't realized just how rusty her combat skills had gotten, but she could think about that later. She may be able to salvage the unfortunate situation and use this to her advantage. Careful not to let her gaze slide to the wardrobe she stood still.

"It's not my fault if you're unobservant," she hissed, "now let me go."

The rogue behind her let her loose, but instead of backing off he swung his knife at her face. Pity. If only Marhail could have tricked him, this could have gone so much better.

Without another word Marhail jabbed outwards, forcing him away, and danced around her room with the other rogue following her. He ran at her and she dodged. He jumped over a couch after her, she swung a stool into his back.

He crashed to the ground and tried to roll back onto his feet, but it was too late. Marhail had him. She straddled the elf with a dagger dripping poison onto his throat.

"Huh," the man said, "I can't remember the last time you defeated me Marhail."

"I've been busy," she spat back, "what are you doing here Astoris?"

"Oh what," he drawled, "I can't come and check up on an old flame?"

/*\

Lilythae looked around frantically amid the chaos. The wolfmen launched themselves at her, their slavering jaws dying to sink into her flesh. For a fraction of a second, she thought about letting them. It could be interesting to see what kind of reaction they'd have to the fel taint in her blood, but she was at a disadvantage enough.

There was a healer hiding in the shadows and she had no idea where. The sparks of light kept coming from all sorts of random directions. Were there multiple healers? But as the wounded men sprang back up, entirely fine, and charged her again and again she knew she couldn't just keep standing there.

She'd wear down eventually.

She caught sight of Mileena leaning on the dwarven man. She seemed to be speaking to him, amicably. He tended her wound while she spoke, and he nodded every so often, listening intently. A terrible thought entered Lilythae's mind.

Had Mileena betrayed them?

Just then an arrow flew past her head and Lilythae found that on top of her assailants, there was now a hunter in the mix.

A hunter who'd just sent a raptor after her. Dinosaurs were the last thing she needed right now.

Lilythae made her decision. She jumped up into the air and sped away into the darkness. No one could see her anymore. But she could see them, and now that she'd made it away from the others, she could finally use her spectral sight.

Ah, so she'd been right. There wasn't just one healer. There were three.

/*\

Feyly prowled the halls with Yvaine following closely behind – wondering what she was doing no doubt. Now that the adrenaline had worn down Feyly found that she was thirsty, she wanted to nap, and she would have loved some food right about then. Not in that particular order but still. There was a girl in the kitchen named Anara who made the best pie….

Oh right, Anara was dead. She'd been slaughtered in the last attack.

Feyly dodged the demon hunters and carefully slinked around the members of Yvaine's raid team. She scanned the different rooms, looking for Lilythae, but she couldn't find her. Her ears pricked with the screaming. It sounded like there was a serious fight going down in the Sanctuary of Shadows. Feyly loped her way there. She turned to ask Yvaine if she was alright only to find that Yvaine was no longer following her.

The younger woman had left, and Feyly was struck by something she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Regret.

But that didn't matter now. Feyly could see the healers assisting Lilythae's assailants, and right now that was what she needed to worry about. As much as it pained Feyly to make the decision, the situation with Yvaine would just have to wait.

/*\

Nareda slowly got to her hooves, rage tainting her heart. Blood elves were treacherous creatures, they proved it time and again, and now one had just shot her. She glared up at Kor'lei. As much as she had a grudge against the elves she now shared her city with, she had much more important things to worry about.

Nareda ripped the arrow from her shoulder, using her healing magic to slow the bleeding. She slammed Kor'lei with the power of the light.

It felt almost surreal. As golden energy burned the elfin whore where she stood, Nareda could only register the sensation of mana leaving her veins. All she could feel was fear, anger, sadness, and all sorts of other things that the convents would have shamed her for. She was no longer the epitome of goodness, of the Light. She was an enraged mother who wanted her baby returned to her, safe and unharmed, at whatever cost necessary.

Nothing was going to save Kor'lei. She could not escape the vindictive power of the light. She could not escape Nareda. No matter how much Kor'lei dodged, or shot, or sent shadow beasts and crows to pick at her eyes, Nareda persevered.

The draenei could shield herself, heal herself, and most importantly she was powerful. It was all Kor'lei could do to fend her off, and they both knew it.

Despite the power Nareda knew she was siphoning from the offensive magic, she wouldn't win. With one last shadow spell the draenei had beaten the elf down. The girl was bleeding profusely from her temple, and blood dripped from a sizzling gash in her side. Kor'lei glared up at the draenei, and Nareda didn't pause one moment to haul the fragile elf up and slam her into the wall, gripping the delicate silk of her outfit hard enough that it should have torn.

"Where. Is. Belrii?" she snarled. Kor'lei sighed.

"So, she's yours I take it?"

"She is."

"Marhail is the one taking care of them. That room there." Kor'lei nodded to the demolished bedroom, the very one she'd just searched. The one that she'd ripped apart entirely and found no trace of her little girl. The draenei let her power just a little loose, singing the other woman's skin where she held her.

"If you continue lying to me, I will kill you."

/*\

As much as Marhail wanted to sneer down at the man before her, she couldn't help wanting to hug him. She didn't of course, but his was a face she had never expected to see again.

"That's the question isn't it? Are you here to check up on me, or are you here to kill me?"

Astoris said nothing but he glared up at her with those calculating green eyes, the same shade as hers. The last time she'd seen Astoris, his eyes had been blue. He reached up carefully, slowly, and brushed a single blond curl out of Marhail's face. His own hair had fallen from his hood, just as long and black as ever. He hadn't changed in the slightest, and for a moment Marhail wondered if she looked the same too. Had the changes in her being been physical? Or was it a strictly internal thing?

"I wanted to see if it was true." he answered slowly. "I had hoped that Auriel had mistaken you for someone else, misheard your name, but I guess not."

"No. She did not."

"Why didn't you return to Quel'Thalas?"

"Would the sin'dorei have taken me back?"

"Yes. We would have," he said, but for a rogue he had never been a good liar. Astoris had a tell, one she'd only learned of because she had once been so close to him, but she knew. It was an imperceptible thing, barely there. When he lied he timed his blinks, as though he thought that no one would pick up on the habit that covered up a tell he'd tried to train away.

Marhail pressed the dagger just a bit closer, letting the poison pool further on his skin. She wouldn't cut him just yet. All she could think about was the last time she'd seen him.

He'd been staring after her with that look of betrayal written all over his face. It had been four days before their wedding, but as much as she'd adored him she knew that she would have never led a fulfilling life with him. But with Illoren? There had been excitement, danger in courting a night elf. Someone who was forever forbidden from her, just as she had been forbidden from him. The war, the prejudice, the murder, it was so dramatic, and she had been so very young. Illoren had been the shiniest, most precious of gems, something that she would forever covet even in his death.

As much as she'd loved Astoris, she knew he wouldn't have been the right choice, though it could be argued that he would have been the smartest choice. She'd known him since they were both children. She'd known how he felt about her. Her parents had liked him, he was well-off, he'd have taken good care of her. She'd have been comfortable. She knew even now that he still loved her, because he wasn't fighting back.

They both knew that he'd be able to overtake her with no issue.

"You know," she whispered, "sometimes I wonder what life would have been like."

She stood up and turned away, waving him over to follow her.

"Do you really think me so pathetic as to turn your back to me?"

"I never thought you were pathetic, Astoris," she answered gently, "but there is something I'd like to show you."

Just as she'd wanted, Astoris approached the wardrobe.

/*\

Once Lilythae spotted the healers, it was all over rather quickly. She picked them off one by one, managing to end them with one hit each, but by the time she was finished with them her newfound power had worn off.

She had returned to her usual size, the tail and hooves gone. Her wings folded neatly into her back, and she debated what to do. When she was a big raging monster that was one thing.

But now she was just herself.

She moved through the shadows, careful not to let anyone see her. It wasn't for a lack of trying, they were rushing off into the shadows one at a time, searching her out. She was debating what to do next when she felt the brush of fur against her leg. There was a wolf standing right next to her, gazing up at her expectantly, as if to say, _Well? What are you waiting for?_

Feyly had arrived, and at the best of times. She stood ready to attack, her ears flattening when the men started quietly speaking among themselves. She growled low in her throat, just soft enough that they couldn't hear her.

"On three?" Lilythae inquired. The wolf nodded.

The pair shredded through the wolf-men. The strength in Feyly's jaws was enough to rival their own, and Lilythae's glaives parted their flesh like butter. A set of human men came for them, and the story was much the same. They laid wounded on the floor, but there were no more flashes of light to let them recover. A single draenei hunter was easily dealt with when Feyly distracted his animals, and then there was only one opponent left.

The night elf. Yoren. The one who'd been attacking Mileena.

/*\

Illidan observed the state of the Sanctuary of Shadows with an almost impressed air. She'd taken no mercy on any of them. Stray body parts littered the floor. The master of the demon hunters picked up a dismembered arm and inspected the cut before tossing it aside, the interest passing. They had undeniably done an excellent job defending what they could, but that didn't change what had happened.

They'd been a little more prepared this time, a little more on edge with the recent attack, with the little children living in the den. They'd been more ready and willing to fight than they had been in a long while. Perhaps this should be considered as a sort of training. All they'd be doing in less than three days was fight. Mardum was getting close.

But that wasn't important right now. He needed to find the survivors, and he needed to count the corpses. The blood didn't smell as potent as it had the day before yesterday. He hoped that meant there hadn't been as many deaths this time, but until he had the body count he really wouldn't know.

Lilythae would have to change her plans again. While it looked like a fair number of consorts had fallen in battle, he spied quite a few demon hunters as well. He could no longer hear any kind of battle, but all the same he needed to make sure there was nothing else out there. He stepped away from the bodies and continued his patrol.

The assault on Mardum would be more difficult than he thought.

/*\

The dwarf looked up cautiously. He knew that the only reason he was still alive was because he was helping the little elf, and he made sure she didn't step away from him. The demon hunter had become smaller, more womanlike, with a wolf at her feet. The wolf turned into a pretty kal'dorei girl, dressed much the same as the consort who leaned on him. They both looked at the bleeding elf with a mixture of concern and anger.

The demon hunter barked words in an unfamiliar language. Almost like Darnassian but not quite. The girl, Mileena, responded softly. It was as though she was frightened of speaking any louder. The demon hunter's gaze slid to him, and the night elf approached. The dwarf cautiously handed the blood elf over and laid a hand on the knife at his side. He couldn't tell if the demon hunter was going to attack, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to save himself if she did.

She stepped closer, and the dwarf could feel the sweat dripping down his neck. He gripped the knife a little harder, and the wait of a just a few seconds felt like centuries. She stopped just in front of him.

"Why did you help her?" She asked.

"It was the right thing to do." He answered. She studied him a moment more.

"What makes you say that? All the others were either killing our consorts or raping them. What made this different?"

"I have a daughter. Your friend looks like she could be the same age. I am not that kind o' man."

The demon hunter opened her mouth to speak when a loud voice boomed from the other room.

"Demon hunters," a loud, guttural voice called, "report back! How many of them were there?"

"That's Illidan," the woman said, picking up the dwarf's gun, "here. Take your things and get out of here. As thanks for saving Mileena I will not kill you, but I cannot make the same promises for the naga or the demons. Go, now."

And with that she walked away, escorting the other two women back to the den. All the dwarf could do was stand there, stunned.

She'd spared him.

But then the clopping of hooves caught his attention, and he realized that the demon hunter's master might not be so forgiving. So, throwing his gun on his back and picking up his bags, he made for the exit. He'd be able to get out. The raid team had made sure to kill off everything that had been in their way.

He'd have one hell of a story to tell his wife when he got home.

/*\

Marhail wasn't sure what to anticipate, but it most certainly hadn't been this. When Aelelia saw Astoris she immediately jumped out into his arms.

"Uncle! I didn't know you were in Shattrath!"

"Of course! When I heard you were missing, I couldn't not come," he answered, smiling at her. Cautiously the other two girls exited the wardrobe, staring up at him curiously.

"Hello Astoris." Belrii murmured meekly. She didn't meet his eyes when he glanced down at her.

"Hello again Belrii," he answered, "are you alright? Your foot is bandaged." Then he took notice of Va'lyn. "Who might you be?"

The night elf cowered behind Marhail.

"She can't speak Thalassian," the woman said, "she escaped with the other two from a demon interment camp. Her parents distracted the demons, so they could get away."

"I see," Astoris said, "how did they end up here?"

"Because I brought them here." Another voice piped up. There was Lilythae, standing in the open doorway. "Are they alright?"

"We're fine!" Aelelia cheerfully answered, waving. Lilythae's eyes flashed to Astoris.

"And you are an ally, I take it?"

"He is," Marhail intervened, "I knew him in Quel'thalas, he can be trusted."

"Good. Marhail," Lilythae's attention shifted, "come with me, Kor'lei needs help." And with that the demon hunter darted away. Unconcerned for the safety of the three girls now in Astoris's care, she was quick to follow.

Marhail was grateful that Lilythae was so intuitive. If she'd attacked Astoris, she'd have had an entirely different set of problems on her hands.

/*\

Nareda waited for the elf to answer her when it happened. There were no words, no demands, no dramatic overtures. Just a demon hunter, throwing a glaive at her head. Nareda just barely managed to dodge as the weapon impaled itself into the wall, having missed Kor'lei as well. Pity.

The battle was short. Nareda used her magic, and she drew her dagger. The priestess was more than prepared for this battle. She shielded herself with the power of the Light, stopping the demon hunter from hurting her as she let fly the sparks of golden energy that hit the blood elf square in the face. The elf jolted back, the blindfold burning away, and that was when Nareda was ambushed.

A rogue had tried to stab her, poison her. But Nareda was too good for such things. She whirled and using training from a bygone era, expertly drove the knife into the rogue's side.

It was like time had stopped. The rogue's eyes went wide with shock. She had likely never thought to expect such a thing from a priestess. Next was the demon hunter, her face twisting with rage. For a split second Nareda thought she was going to die, because the demon hunter had begun to cast alongside her. But somehow that wasn't the worst part.

No, the worst part was that Astoris had found the children. Not only had he found the children, but he had led them right to her. All Nareda could see was Belrii's face. The little girl – _her_ little girl – had clapped her hands over her mouth. Tears had welled up in her eyes, and she hid behind the blood elf man, frightened of her own mother.

She stumbled forward, reaching out. Babbling that this wasn't what it looked like, she was trying to save them, when she caught sight of her own hands.

Her fingers were doused in blood, but more than that, they were covered in shadows. In fact, her entire body was covered in shadows, twisting and convulsing. It was in that horrifying moment that she'd realized.

She hadn't been calling to the Light. In her anger, her sadness, her terror, something else had been allowed to take over. Something else that was neither a kind nor benevolent thing in the manner of the Light. She had done so well, keeping the darker natures of her power hidden away, beaten down. She never wanted to let Belrii see this side of her, to never even let her know it existed.

Now all that work was for naught. In Nareda's moment of weakness, the voices in her head had completely taken her over.

/*\

Lilythae had to stop herself. She had begun to use her own magic, worried that the shadow priestess was going to harm the children, but the man that had been in Marhail's room had taken on the role of defense. She didn't know who he was, but Marhail had quite clearly stated that she trusted him. For now, that would have to be enough.

She redirected herself and grabbed her glaive from the wall, dragging Kor'lei to Marhail's side. Immediately, Lilythae changed track. She went to inspect the rogue's wound.

It was so much worse than it looked.

Marhail was bleeding out, fast. She gasped, desperate for breath, and blood started to trickle from her lips. The priestess must have pierced a lung. Lilythae acted as quickly as she could. She ripped the midsection of Marhail's armor off with her demonic strength. She tore at her own skirts so that she could craft a makeshift bandage. She applied pressure the wounds.

Lilythae could have cauterized it with her fire magic, but the wound was just too deep. It wouldn't have stopped the internal bleeding. All she could do was press the leather against the wound, but still the blood leaked through.

"Kor'lei, KOR'LEI!" Lilythae shouted, the consort struggling to get to her feet. "Find a healer! Now!"

All the huntress could do was nod, and when she stumbled on her fourth step, she commanded her cat to run out into the temple. The huntress collapsed, rendered unconscious after the beating she'd taken at the priestess's hand.

"It's okay Marhail," Lilythae whispered, "we're going to get you a healer, you're going to make it through this."

"No, no I'm not," she choked out, "don't lie to me."

"We can still save you."

"Let me–" she coughed, blood spewing into her hand, "let me talk to Astoris. I have to tell him-"

"Tell me what?" The other rogue had appeared behind Lilythae, pressing his own hands into the wound, taking over the task. When Lilythae turned she found that Feyly was standing at the defense of the three girls who looked at the situation with worried eyes, a snarling wolf putting herself between them and the draenei. She let go and went to stand by Feyly, the shadow priestess still babbling and staring down at her bloodied hands.

This was not good.

Lilythae drew her glaives, ready to strike. She stepped forward to land the final blow, not looking away until Belrii tugged at what remained of her skirt. Tears streamed down the blue girl's face, but her words were clear.

"Please don't hurt her, that's my mama."

Shit.

/*\

Marhail didn't feel the pain at first. She was too busy wondering how the priestess had managed to stab her.

She fell to her knees, the pain beginning to throb in waves through her body. She faintly registered the feeling of the blood leaking through her leathers, and she thought she could hear people screaming. Through her hazy vision she could see the shadow priestess stumble forward towards the kids, Astoris drawing his twin swords in preparation to defend them.

Suddenly Lilythae was above her. She felt her head being lifted, something soft cushioning her. She could feel the stabbing pain as Lilythae pushed something into her bleeding side, and it was a chore just to breathe. She could feel the blood gushing out of her lungs to her lips, and Marhail was struck with the strangest thought.

She was dying. She wasn't going to make it, and though the lieutenant promised that she'd make a recovery Marhail knew deep down inside that wasn't true.

She'd always imagined her death to be different. She thought she'd be with Illoren or Astoris, someone who loved her more than anything in the world. She thought she'd be old, surrounded by children and grandchildren. After all, that was what she'd wanted, more than anything.

In some of her dreams her children had blue skin, light green hair. In others they were pale like her, with glowing green eyes and a head of hair the color of a raven's wing. She wouldn't get to talk to Illoren, not now, not ever again.

But she could talk to Astoris.

She coughed her request to Lilythae, ready to beg in her final moments if she had to, but Astoris had walked over on his own accord. As he cradled her head in his lap, pressing his hand against her wound, he listened.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, "I'm so, so sorry,"

"What for?"

"The wedding, the engagement, everything. I shouldn't have toyed with you the way I did. I was selfish, I wanted both you and Illoren."

"So that was his name. Illoren." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. I need– I need to tell you something."

"You shouldn't strain yourself like this, there's a healer coming to save you." Astoris chided, refusing to meet her eyes. Black hair fell into his face.

"I loved you too. I loved you so much, but I couldn't marry you because I knew what my life would be."

"Do you think it would have been horrible?"

"I wanted more from my life. I didn't want to spend my centuries just…cooking. Cleaning. Having babies. Having the rest of my life stuck in one spot. I wanted to see the world too. I wanted to travel, to have adventures, to see and live. To have all the same things you would have. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I'd been with you."

"Stop talking Marhail." Astoris ground out, digging his fingers into the stab wound. She hissed in pain but complied.

Yes, she had imagined her death very differently. After a few more labored breaths, she remembered something. In that moment it felt like monumental task, just to retrieve the little letter from her pocket. Astoris helped her.

"What's this?" he asked, and Marhail tried to sit up.

"That is for Illidan."

"So, the Betrayer himself can get a letter from you, but all I can have is a few words on why you couldn't marry me. Figures."

"Oh, shut up you crybaby." Marhail growled, wiping more blood from her lips. "If you reach into the other pocket, there's another letter. For you, if by some miracle there was someone here willing to get it to you in case something like this ever happened."

She watched and felt as he reached into the pocket on her vest, felt the shifting of his fingers through the dulling pain. Come to think of it, she was starting to feel a little sleepy. Sleep sounded nice.

"Hey, hey Marhail," she knew Astoris was speaking to her, trying to keep her from closing her eyes, but it was just too much. Sleep would be much better than pain, right? If she could sleep through the pain, then maybe she'd feel better in the morning when she woke up. No, wait, she'd forgotten. She wasn't going to wake up, she'd been stabbed.

But she was too tired to dwell on it. She wanted to go to sleep. So, she did.

/*\

Lilythae was debating what to do when she saw Astoris lift Marhail from the ground. There was so much blood where she'd been laying. He looked like he was going to take her from the temple.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Lilythae called, jumping out in front of him.

"I am taking her home," he snarled, "she will have a proper sin'dorei funeral. Her friends will be there. Her family will be there, and _I_ will be there. And no one will know what she was doing here," he glanced over to the three girls, still cowering before the shadow priestess. The priestess was clutching her head, as though she were in pain. Lilythae turned back to the rogue. His hair covered his face but the drops falling from his chin betrayed him. He was crying. She wondered how he'd known Marhail, but now was not the time for questions.

"At least let the other consorts pay their respects. There are a lot of people here who will miss her,"

"That's not my problem. I'm taking her home," and before Lilythae could do anything else he vanished, Marhail's body vanishing with him. But she couldn't pursue him, because a door had slammed open from a different direction.

Two blood elf mages were running up to her, and a draenei man was coming to the aid of the shadow priestess. Aelelia darted out from behind Feyly.

"Mama, Papa!" and she bolted for her family. The elves pushed her behind them and stared accusingly at Lilythae. They didn't say a word.

Belrii had cautiously approached the man, speaking softly in draenei and letting him wrap her in his arms while he tended to her mother.

Va'lyn stared apprehensively at both sets of adults, holding a death grip on the book that Illidan had given her. She plainly wasn't sure where to go, who to go to, and so Lilythae slowly stepped towards the blood elves. She didn't know how to speak draenei. She saw the spells charging in their hands, and she slowly dropped her glaives, raising her hands up to show she wasn't hostile. She spoke, explaining that she'd found the three girls in Shadowmoon Valley, Aelelia trying to fend off three felguards with a staff while Va'lyn tried to heal Belrii's wound. She explained that Va'lyn's parents had most likely died distracting the demons so the three could escape, and that Va'lyn had no way of getting home from here. She told them everything, in the hopes that they might be willing to take the little night elf girl away from the temple. She all but begged them to take the girl with them.

The couple hesitated, speaking softly among themselves, Aelelia trying to intervene and quickly being told to hush.

"She can come with us," the man finally said, "what is your name, demon hunter?"

"My name is Lilythae, Lilythae Bloodbringer,"

"Thank you, Lilythae, for saving our children. We will go now," he beckoned to Va'lyn.

The night elf looked up at Lilythae uncertainly, her only source of comfort now that Marhail was gone. Lilythae nodded encouragingly, doing her best to smile in the face of such a grim situation. Cautiously, Va'lyn approached Aelelia and her family and was swept up into the mother's arms.

They conjured a portal and left.

Despite everything else, at least there were no more children in the temple.

/*\

When Illidan heard what happened to Marhail he went numb.

He hadn't loved her, not really, but she had been a very good ally. She kept her secrets close, his secrets even closer. She had done a great deal for him, beyond letting him into her bed. She had been one of his most trusted companions, and now she was gone. But it didn't feel real enough to truly dwell on yet.

He wasn't sure how to process the news, and it came out with his next few words,

"I am sorry to hear that. Now gather the corpses. We need to be ready for their next attack."

 **/*\**

 **Again, I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to get this out here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **-Statyck**


	12. Chapter 12

**Well. It's been a while hasn't it?**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

Lilythae was careful.

The day had been awful. Two funerals in one week, well, it was a little much to bear. On top of that, Marhail was dead. Not only was she dead but her body had been carted off by a stranger. She hadn't been able to stop him, not with everything else that had happened.

She couldn't seem to erase the guilt for that.

Yet on top of the funerals, of Marhail's murder, it was not the last she'd see of death this day. Today was it. It had the great misfortune of being the anniversary. It had been just a little less than a year since she'd joined Illidan's forces, meaning that today had extra significance for her.

Lilythae slammed the door behind her, locking it shut. The demon hunter surveyed her room calmly. The war plans arranged on her desk. The cot she'd nearly died in. The loose stone just under the tiny wardrobe.

Deftly, the lieutenant shifted the wardrobe to the left. Just by an inch. She lifted the loose stone to find her box. A box she wasn't supposed to have.

She lifted the lid carefully. She stared at the single photograph, a corner completely singed off. Orion's smiling face. Her swollen belly. A house that was far too small but theirs. She set it aside. She held the pair of tiny baby shoes in her hand, still shiny and new. She remembered clearly the day she'd bought them. It had been a shop in Quel'Thalas, the second to last time she'd been in the city. She'd commissioned them from a friend, who not only made her a priority customer but had put special care into making the shoes. They were a one of a kind pair. No one else had any like them. They had been meant to grow with the child, designed with an absurdly sweet amount of magic. Aveera had never sold the design to anyone else, despite saying it was one of her best ones. Lilythae gently set them down, careful not to let her claws scratch the leather. She then pulled out the dress, a long white gown with a hood large enough to hide her.

Lilythae ripped off her armor, leaving it crumpled on the floor. She would have to ensure it hadn't warped later, but for now she wasn't inclined to care about something so trivial. She carefully pushed her hands through long sleeves, the silk feeling foreign on her skin. She hadn't worn it since before the Black Temple. For a while she wondered if she'd ever wear it again.

She grasped the laces at the chest and pulled them taught. Her tattoos hidden, her body covered, the demon hunter let the hood fall over her face. She summoned her portal and walked through.

The graveyard was just as she remembered it, untouched by the time that had passed. The frozen trees swayed overhead, the icicles chiming in the wind. The iron fence still stood, the stubborn weeds in the ground removed. The land was still taken care of. The sky was gray with coming snow, and the rows of headstones seemed to go on forever.

As she stepped through the gate she could feel the chill of the air wrack it's way down her spine. Truly Northrend hadn't changed at all. She passed the rows silently, solemnly. She was nearing the end of the cemetery when she finally turned.

 _Marina Starsong. Forever blessed by the Light and Elune._

She'd never gotten to have the life she was supposed to. Though she might have been spared the horrors of Azeroth, she'd never gotten to experience the wonders either. Lilythae's eyes were fixed on the grave, far too small. The date had burned itself into her mind, for it had been the same year, the same month, the same week. Marina had been only seven days old when the demons came. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet.

Lilythae had to force herself to look away. She might have stood staring forever, but that was when she noticed the grave next to Marina's. It seemed that something had changed after all.

 _Orion Starsong. Loving husband and father. Forever missed._

He was missed, missed dearly, especially now. Lilythae couldn't quite hear it, not over the shrieking north wind, but she could feel her voice keening in rage.

Orion's grave had been disturbed. Dirt, freshly dug it seemed, sat in a pile beside the gaping hole. His body was gone. As she searched her own body for her husband's magic, for reassurance, she found that it too was missing.

She stumbled away from the grave, her screaming subsiding. She glanced around frantically, in case anyone had heard her and that was when she realized it. She hadn't noticed at first, she'd been too preoccupied to. Orion's grave hadn't been the only one defiled.

There were bodies missing all over the graveyard.

/*\

Lilythae ported back to the temple. She thought about going to the Den, about talking to Feyly. Feyly would know what to say. She would know what to do.

But she couldn't do that. Part of her vows as a member of the Illidari was to let go. It was good to remember the past, but she could not live in it. Let go of the past, let go of the future, fight so that there _is_ a future. She glared around at the confines of her room, trying to decide.

She first decided to let herself catch her breath. She used the sleeve of her robe to wipe away the stray tears. She let her complexion return to normal, the redness fading into nothing. She let her long hair fall down her shoulder, but she did not remove her hood. She suspected she knew what had happened in the graveyard, what had happened to her husband, and it made her want to be sick to her stomach.

She'd been forced to eat a demon's heart, to feel the fel sear through her body, to feel it rewrite her very being. She'd wretched blood for days, had watched the demonic nightmares for weeks. She'd thought that, if nothing else, she could never be so sick in her life again. She had been wrong. She knew she should tell someone, anyone, about what the Lich King was doing in Northrend. She knew she should warn them about the graves but who would she tell? How would she explain her knowledge? She couldn't. Not without admitting to her own folly.

She cupped her face in her hands. There was a part of her that direly wanted to portal herself back to Northrend, she had the energy. She wanted to march on Icecrown herself, to tear through the swaths of undead, to challenge the Frostmourne's champion in all her wrathful glory. In that moment she felt as though his dark power would have no choice but to pale compared to her fury.

But if even Illidan had fallen to the Princeling, then what chance did she have?

She snatched her glaive and thrust it into the wall by her desk, screaming in aggravation. She stepped back and let it sit in the stone by her wardrobe, above the little box she'd unwisely left sitting. She sighed and took the weapon from the hole. She let it fall to the floor, for the moment forgotten. She knelt and retrieved her box, full of her contraband mementos from a happier time. Her fingers trembled as she replaced the photo, the baby shoes, the broken knife that had taken Orion from her. Her brothers initials still glowed on the blade. H.B.

The life she'd worked so hard for, all in this miniscule box. The past hour of pain reared back up, and the voice whispered.

 _You are so sad._ It purred, from deep within her mind. _You should let go for a bit, relax, forget. Everyone has weak moments. Let me take command of your body for a few hours. I promise I'll take good care of it._

Lilythae didn't offer an answer. Instead she retrieved a quill from her desk and pulled at the shoulder of her dress. She dug the nub into her skin and enhanced the rune. She listened as the demon cursed, faded away, under wraps once more. She shouldn't have been so generous with her power the day before. She shouldn't have been so careless. She should have taken on those men as herself, not the metamorphized monster that she'd never learned to control.

Lilythae slumped down in her desk. She couldn't go after the Scourge. Not now. She needed to capture the keystone first. She needed to gain access to the Legion's portal, their command centers, their knowledge. It would mean nothing if she went after Arthas and the demons won the war, all because she'd let her wrath overtake her.

She could go after Arthas after she defeated Sargeras. That monster would just have to wait while she took care of more important monsters.

She sighed, not satisfied in the slightest. She wanted to kill Arthas, and she wanted to do it right then. The thought that he'd raised her husband, that Orion had become the very thing he'd fought so hard to eradicate….

Even then she might not get to go after the Scourge. It was all too possible that she wouldn't survive the attack on the Fel Hammer. She might not make it. She might not ever find out what happened to Orion, to his soul or his body.

She might die alone, sad, and ignorant. Though it was certainly selfish, that might have been the worst thought of all.

She needed a distraction. She needed _release._ She had kept such good control over her wants and desires up until now. She felt hollow, contaminated. Orion's mark had kept a part of her pure, a part of her that had now been corrupted by the fel. It had offered her a peace of mind that she hadn't realized she had until it was gone. Now all she could comprehend was the hollow feeling inside her chest. She couldn't bear it. She snapped.

She stood up, her mind focused on one single thing, and teleported.

Illidan had made it abundantly clear. Lilythae was welcome in his chambers. As her bare feet brushed against the softness of his rugs she looked up, prepared to explain herself. She found that he was not there. She blinked. She hadn't expected to have time for hesitation, but she shoved the thought away.

No, she had been too cowardly for far too long. The temple wasn't the greatest place to live, but it wasn't the worst either. In her grief she had denied herself any shred of happiness that had presented itself to her, rejected every opportunity. No more. Her vengeance would have to wait, but it was not a crime to enjoy her time before then.

Three days before her mission on Mardum. Three days to fully embrace who she was now. Three days to enjoy her life before it could be wrenched away from her completely. If her soul was really going to the Twisting Nether, then she may as well have fun with what time she had left beforehand.

Lilythae removed her boots and politely set them by the door. She loosened the ties on her gown, so that she could breathe just a bit easier. She removed the hood from her head, letting her hair fall down her shoulders, loose instead of confined in her normal braid.

She breathed in, taking in the power that infused the room. The large mattress, the arcane tapestries, the soft furs, none of it was foreign. She remembered a time when she herself possessed such luxuries. She looked out the window, certain nothing was looking back. Even if it was, she would be invisible from so far away. She wouldn't be punished for this. She had an open invitation.

She took a moment to muse on how quiet the room was. The rest of the temple was loud. Even when she was trying to sleep in her own room she could always hear people talking or laughing. Sometimes fighting. Illidan's chamber was silent. He wasn't there to talk to her. It was almost uncomfortable.

Lilythae pulled the sleeves down her shoulders, pushed the dress from her waist. It pooled around her feet. Slowly she removed the brassiere. The points had hardened in the chilly air. She shivered and removed her final undergarment. She threw the scant pieces of cloth aside, their landing unimportant, and strode to the bed.

She crawled up onto the mattress, laying on her side. Completely divested of her clothing Lilythae's runes glowed in the soft light, violet on her skin. Her hair covered her breasts and she had her leg hitched just so, as to protect the rest of her modesty. Her chin rested in her hand and she took a deep breath.

Now all she had to do was wait.

/*\

Feyly wandered the den, guilty. Despite everything that had happened, she felt good. Even after the last attack, Rayne had made good on his promise. He'd taken her to one of the private beds, and he'd snuggled her to sleep. No kissing, no fondling, he'd barely even spoke to her. He only said that she needed to sleep. He'd held her close and the next thing she knew it was morning. She'd been warm, and well-rested, and all around happy.

And then she'd remembered.

The funeral had gone much the same as the first one. The pyres, the vials, the speech, the crying. It had given her the strangest, most horrifying sense of déjà vu. Feyly did her best to maintain her composure, but like most everyone else it was pointless. She cried. She cried on Lilythae. She cried on Rayne. And this time it was him to escort her back to the den.

She wished it would have occurred to her to ask if Lilythae was alright. Though the demon hunter had comforted her, Lilythae had been wearing an expression on her face that Feyly had never seen before. Sorrowful, beaten down, contemplative, all at once. It had seemed that she had lost something important as well, but it hadn't even occurred to Feyly to ask. All she could do was cry for the friends she'd lost. Thirty women, all over the course of just a few days. It was a lot.

She wanted to chase down Lilythae, to make sure her friend was alright. She wanted to sleep again. Upon expressing this desire Rayne had nodded to her. He led her away from the main hall and sat her down on a chaise in a secluded little corner. He'd pulled all five layers of curtains shut, creating an opaque darkness cut only by the candle on the table. He said he'd bring her some food, something to drink, and that he'd be right back. He pulled the blanket nearby down on top of her and kissed her forehead. She nodded and laid down, waiting. She drifted off.

She'd forgotten she could still wander the Emerald Dream.

/*\

When Rayne returned to the chaise he was both surprised and relieved. Feyly was sleeping, and though he was disappointed that the tea and the pastries would be cold by the time she awoke resting was more important. He set the tray down on the table and took a seat across from her, on a different chaise.

Why did they have so many of these things? They weren't big enough for snuggling, or the things that came after. They were terribly impractical.

Rayne relaxed into the plush cushioning and exhaled. Feyly was special to him, and not just because she was the "novelty." She was bright and cheerful and kind and so many other things that didn't necessarily fit with her status as a concubine, but rather as a woman, a person. He knew what she had been, what he had once been himself. They hadn't been a part of the same pack, but he liked to think that the bond he felt he shared with her was mutual.

He'd seen one-sided attractions within the Druids of the Pack. They almost never ended well.

As he watched the quiet rise and fall of her chest, Rayne's mind wandered. When all was said and done and the Fel Hammer was taken he had a plan. It wasn't terribly dissimilar from what many of the other demon hunters had planned.

Despite the recent warfare committed against the temple, many of the Illidari were trying to keep up their morale. Just a few hours ago he'd found one of his colleagues with one of the concubines. She had been proposing. Asking if the concubine would marry her once all was said and done and the agreement had been made. If they survived, they would get their happy ending.

It was a strangely optimistic behavior for the Illidari, but then the end was near. They were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and they were making their preparations for what their lives would be once they managed to capture the keystone, once they've ended the war before it began. Rayne, too, was making plans. Though he didn't quite believe that the Fel Hammer would be the end of the Legion's invasion of Azeroth, he did think that there would be quite a while between then and the actual invasion. It wasn't a bad idea to enjoy the time in between.

As he kept an eye on Feyly, ensuring she slept peacefully, that was what he found himself thinking about. Perhaps he could enjoy that stretch of time with her.

/*\

Aelelia was rather annoyed with the attention.

Ever since her return from the Black Temple the little girl had been bombarded with questions.

"What happened?"

"Did they hurt you?"

"What did you see?"

Her parents had asked her these questions a thousand times over. She'd answered a thousand times over. And they always furrowed their eyebrows in dismay. It was like she wasn't telling them what they wanted to hear, but they'd also taught her not to lie. She told the truth.

None of the people in the temple had hurt her. No one had hurt Belrii. No one had hurt Va'lyn. She wasn't sure why this question kept being asked. They had been protected there. Marhail had kept them safe and fed them good food and they fixed Belrii's hoof. It had been perfectly fine. It was like the adults didn't want to hear what she was saying, and so they kept asking her the questions to see if she would change her answer to something else, something they preferred.

But, Aelelia had been instructed never to lie. It was a lesson that had been repeated over and over to her throughout her young life. So, she didn't. It felt like ages before they stopped, and finally she was left to her own devices. As she'd expected, she'd been separated from Belrii and even Va'lyn. She couldn't even talk to Va'lyn, but she still missed her. She wondered if the night elf was okay. Though Aelelia was annoyed with her own parents, Va'lyn didn't have hers anymore. There was no one to dote over her minimal wounds, no one to ask her the same question for an hour. It must be lonely.

As the little girl sat on her bed in Scryer's Tier, she sighed petulantly. She stared out the window, at the rain and the trees. Her juice had gotten warm, so she left it on the night table next to her light. She was getting bored, and there wasn't much for her to do. Sure, she could play a board game against herself, or read one of her fun adventure novels, but she didn't want to focus on any of those things right now. She wanted to see her friends. She wanted to know what they'd said to the grown-ups.

More than anything, she just wanted to know if she could still be Belrii's friend. Belrii was all Aelelia had. If her parents got any stricter then Aelelia wanted to at least be able to say goodbye.

There was a slight knock on the door and her father peeked in. He beckoned her over.

"Aelelia, come here. There's something we want to tell you."

Nervous, the little girl followed. It was almost never good news when her parents talked like that, in that quietly careful tone. It was like they didn't want to hurt her feelings when they hadn't said anything hurtful. The last time her father had used that tone her grandmother had died. She wasn't interested in anything like that.

However, that didn't appear to be the case. Belrii and her parents were sitting in the living room, looking direly uncomfortable. They were obviously tense, sipping their coffee curtly and obviously having to try to be polite. Except for Belrii of course. She was always nice. Aelelia stared at them, and then at her parents. Belrii had never been allowed in her house before. The one time she'd asked, her mother had looked like she was going to explode.

First, her parents apologized to her. They apologized for forbidding her to befriend Belrii. It was their prejudices that had lead to the two sneaking around to play, their prejudices that caused the two of them to be captured. Then Belrii's parents apologized for the same reason. She was no longer forbidden from her friendship.

As happy as this made her, Aelelia had one final concern, something she couldn't quite get off her mind. She thanked Belrii's parents for understanding, for not blaming her, then she turned to her own parents.

"Mama, Papa, thank you. Thank you for not blaming her for what happened, and thank you for not being mad at me, but…" she wasn't sure how to phrase the question.

"What is it Aelelia? Go on, finish what you were saying." Her mother gently encouraged, crouching down and pushing the hair out of her face.

"What's going to happen to Va'lyn? Her family is gone. They were killed in the demon camp." Her gaze flicked to the floor. "We saw it happen."

/*\

When Illidan made to return to his chamber he was angry. He was angry because he'd forgotten. He'd wanted to go down to the springs and he'd ordered the guard to bring Marhail. He had things he wanted to talk to her about, and only when the guard made that expression did he remember. Embarrassed and ashamed, he asked for Helia instead. His afternoon hadn't recovered.

Yet when he entered his bedroom he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. He'd had to do a double take, certain he hadn't seen what he thought he'd seen. Of all the things he'd come to expect of the people in his temple, the kinds of stunts they might pull, he had never thought to anticipate something quite like this.

There she was, Lilythae, laying on his bed. Not only was she laying on his bed, but she was stark naked. He could see the faint glow of her clothes scattered on the floor. She was laying on her side, her arm awry. Judging by her lack of greeting and the even rise and fall of her bared chest he assumed she was sleeping.

She had intended to sate his desires, had come to seduce him. At least, that's what he assumed had happened. There was no sign that anyone else had entered his chambers, and she was the only person with permission to bypass his wards. No one else could have gotten in. There was no other explanation, but all the same he couldn't ask. It would seem he'd taken too long to get back. She'd grown bored of waiting and had fallen asleep on his bed. Naturally from anyone else this would have infuriated him to no end. The offender would have been thrown out on the spot, if not killed. Even Kalyne would have never had the audacity to try this, though he was certain it had crossed her mind once or twice.

Yet given Lilythae's skittish nature, he wasn't about to object if she'd decided to be brave with her affections.

Illidan decided to take advantage of the moment. Lightly his finger traced along her side. Though he could feel the goosebumps on her skin, he also felt the thrumming energy of the runes. He felt a scar from a wound he'd been there to see. A deep gash from a felguard blade, a wound requiring stitches. The scar was so thin, he initially thought he'd been mistaken. Perhaps not.

He trailed further down to her hip. He could see faint lines on the skin, lacking slightly in mana, but he couldn't feel them. Stretch marks. From growth or giving birth he wasn't sure, but it hardly mattered.

He could look all he wanted, but until she woke up it was rather inappropriate for him to touch. Reluctant though he was, he enjoyed the moments when he could touch her, he moved his fingers from her skin and took hold of one of the pelts that adorned his bed. He laid it over her chilled body and turned away. He removed his ponytail, letting his hair fall down his shoulders and relieving the "hairdo headache" as his harem liked to call it. He took a piece of parchment from the drawer and retrieved a pen. He rather liked the pen. It had been specially made to accommodate his claws, and as the writing utensil skittered across the paper he couldn't help but recall the first time he'd tried to write after Sargeras took his eyes.

He'd felt like a blind monkey, unable to see the letters, unable to use the tool without breaking it beneath his claws. It had been without a doubt one of the most humiliating experiences of his life, even next to his ten-thousand-year imprisonment. It had given him the most uncomfortable feeling of vulnerability, when the people around him saw the trouble he had just to write.

Thankfully, it was no longer an issue. He finished the note and approached the door. He passed it off to an imp, instructing it to deliver the note to its destination. Sighing, he sat back down on his chair and stared at the woman in his bed. Though he contemplated his potential choices, he knew there was only one acceptable option for him.

It was his turn to wait.

/*\

When Lilythae awoke she found that she was warm. Very warm, and comfortable, though it felt like her arm had fallen asleep. She was laying in the bed, covered with a pelt. She rolled over to get more comfortable, to settle back into sleep, but a voice rang out.

"I see you're awake now." It said, soft and lulling and just the faintest bit curious. That was when Lilythae remembered.

She'd come to seduce Illidan, and she had fallen asleep. _Asleep._

She briefly considered teleporting away in her mortification. So much for her sexy plans. Who falls asleep at a time like that?! Her, apparently.

Slowly Lilythae sat up, shoving down her embarrassment and holding the pelt close so she wouldn't have to forfeit its warmth. She hadn't realized just how cold Illidan's bedroom was. She stared at him evenly, as calmly as she could.

He was staring back, sitting backwards in his chair. His hair fell over his face, but she could see the fel glow of his eyes as he scrutinized her. He didn't look angry, which she thanked the Light for, but he did look puzzled. He wanted an explanation and, in this instance, she wasn't quite sure what to say.

"This did not go as planned." She murmured, averting her gaze. She'd never really taken the time to study her feet before. Her toes had gained claws when she'd become Illidari, just like her fingertips. As she looked at them she couldn't help but wonder how her things stayed intact. Her boots, her blankets, all of them. It made for an excellent, though momentary, distraction.

"Then tell me Lieutenant Bloodbringer," Illidan said, his voice maintaining its quiet timbre, "what, exactly, did you have planned?"

Lilythae let her gaze shoot back up, meeting his and gauging his thoughts. His face was perfectly schooled into neutrality, his loose hair entirely unhelpful in the matter. He was hiding, but whether it was because he was nervous or something else, she didn't know.

"Well, to be perfectly honest and somewhat hypocritical," she admitted, "I came here to seduce you."

"It isn't often that people acknowledge their own hypocrisy." He said, tapping his finger on the chair.

"I've always believed that people should own up to their flaws." She explained simply.

"Why now, Lilythae?" He asked, raising his head just slightly. "Why is it that now you want me? What changed?"

Lilythae got the feeling that she needed to be extremely careful here. She was nearly as powerful as Illidan. Nearly. Not quite as equal as she would like to believe. It had never occurred to her that this encounter could end with anything other than a passionate night in bed. Given his persistence, she hadn't thought to expect that he might want some sort of explanation from her. It made sense when she thought about it.

"I'm tired of letting myself be unhappy." She said. "I couldn't force myself to not want you. In three days, I will either stop the Legion or I will die. Any other possibility is too unlikely to be worth considering. I don't want to waste the time I have left feeling sorry for myself."

For a moment everything was silent. Illidan considered her, obviously thinking very hard about something. Probably the fact that he had found her asleep and naked in his bed. Not an unlikely guess, she'd wager. Light, she was foolish.

Slowly he stood up, not taking his eyes off her. He walked over to her, the hooves offering a near silent _thud_ as he took each deliberate step towards her. Though it could be her own apprehension that made it seem deliberate. He knelt on the bed and slowly, carefully, he took hold of the pelt around her body. He made sure she could see him.

He tugged on it, pulling it away from her. As soon as her fingers released the fur he tossed it away in the direction of her clothes. Lilythae hadn't felt this vulnerable since she'd joined Illidari ranks. Here she was, bared before him. As she felt his hand snake up her thigh she knew that it was far too late to turn back. She had committed to this encounter, with not only her actions but her words. Admittedly, she was afraid. She had no idea what to expect from him. He could be rough, he might be gentle. He was unpredictable enough that she had no way of telling. She didn't like it when she couldn't at least guess what to expect.

His hands gripped her waist and he slid her back across the covers before finally laying her down, her head landing on his pillows. He covered her body with his own and she was acutely aware of the fact that his leathers were the only thing separating the two of them. She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him kiss her. She toyed with his hair as he touched her, hitched her leg up over his hips as he pressed against her. She rather enjoyed the fact that she was still warm, his heat combating the cold air.

She felt his teeth nip at her skin, blunt like before. She asked about it. He said he was suppressing his demonic power. He told her that he had no interest in hurting her.

"That's good," she murmured, her lips at his ear, "because then I'd have to hurt you back."

"Do you think you're capable of hurting me?" He asked, sounding almost amused. He bit down on her neck. She tensed up and grimaced. Grabbing hold of his hips with her knees, she rolled them over and straddled him. She leaned down.

"I think you should be more hesitant to underestimate your adversaries." She whispered.

"Do you consider me an enemy then?" He asked, nuzzling into her neck.

"I think that, like many other things, this is a competition of sorts."

"Oh?"

"When in bed with someone new," she explained, running her hands down his chest, "you learn about them. You learn what they like, what they don't like, and perhaps most importantly, you learn who has control."

"I'm not interested in relinquishing control." He said. Lilythae blinked, but he didn't seem sincere. His expression spoke of lust, but it also suggested curiosity, anticipation. He didn't seem set in his domineering desire, but he would be happy to behave as such if she let him. _That_ she understood.

"Then perhaps, we will just have to see which of us is stronger." She said.

He laughed and let his power flare. She could feel his mana engulfing her, holding her in a bubble, moving along her flesh. She huffed and returned the gesture. She let her power stifle him, push him back. She let him know that she would not be easy to conquer, that if he wanted his dominance he would have to fight for it. The widened eyes, the excited grin, he seemed to like the prospect of fighting for it.

He seemed to purr and bucked his hips, making her gasp and taking the opportunity to get her on her back once more. His claws nicked her skin, holding her in place and refusing to let go.

If this was how the night was going to go, then Lilythae wondered if she should be ready to find a healer come morning.

 **/*\**

 **Well would you look at that. They're gonna do it. The thing you've all been waiting for! In all sincerity. I'm an adult. I should be able to say the word "sex."**

 **-Statyck**


	13. Chapter 13

**The thing. It happened. NOW WHAT?**

 **-Statyck**

 **/*\**

Lilythae had felt so certain up to this point. Illidan was powerful, intelligent, and utterly beautiful in the way that most elven men were. Despite the horns and the hooves and the horrendous shade of green his tattoos glowed, he was gorgeous. It certainly helped that the sounds he made inspired a certain pride within her.

She _liked_ his voice. Though she didn't quite care for the pompous words he used when speaking the masses, he took a different tone for her. He whispered to her all the things he wanted to do to her. He started out sweet, telling her how much he liked her, how smart she was. He told her how beautiful she was. As he slid the rough callouses on his hands over her breasts, tracing the violet tattoos, he told her how much more he'd touch her. When he slid his fingers between her legs, careful not to scratch her with his claws, he told her how he intended to kiss her, digging his knuckles into the most sensitive of places. When she moaned his name, he told her he'd have her until the sun rose and set again and they hadn't even started yet.

She would not be permitted to leave his chamber until she was sent to Mardum, if he was to be believed. And she _did_ believe.

When she touched him, he hummed in anticipation. When she let her tongue tease his throat, he groaned. When she slowly rolled her hips into his stomach, letting him feel the slick effect of his work, he growled and snapped his hips forward.

That was when it occurred to her just what this decision might entail.

"You," he panted, "You are so small."

And it was true. Compared to him Lilythae was positively miniscule. Kal'dorei men were tall, she knew that, but Illidan was something else entirely. He leaned down, placing open mouthed kisses at her neck. He grasped at her hips and she realized he could probably wrap his hands completely around her waist, his fingers touching.

She was conflicted. She was concerned, certainly, about what that size difference could mean but she was enjoying herself immensely. With each roll of her hips he responded in kind. She tangled her fingers into his long black locks. When she sighed, he moaned, and when she slipped her hands down his stomach to undo his pants he held her hand closer.

He wasn't that big right? He couldn't be. It had to be the furs. She helped him remove the clothing and to both her excitement and dismay, he was proportionate.

For a moment Lilythae found her blood freezing. It was an odd feeling, arousal stained with fear. She had grabbed Illidan by the horns on his head and held him trapped at her throat, his tongue laving at the skin. She couldn't let him see her face. As much as she was enjoying the physical attentions her fear grew with each passing second.

Her mind had no trouble with the math, figuring out what she'd seen. Not only would he not fit, but if he tried then she would tear. If she tore, if he pressed as far as he could, she didn't want to think about it.

That was no way to go.

Just as her mind began to descend into terrified chaos, he wrapped his fingers around her wrists and pulled her away. He stared at her face. In the mist of her heat-heightened terror, she had no trouble focusing on his voice.

"I will not hurt you." He rumbled. It was likely true. Lilythae knew that it would be silly for him to have a harem if he killed each woman he bedded. There was no way he was raising them from the dead each time he felt _excited._ It didn't surprise her that she didn't find the thought especially comforting.

Despite her trepidation, she let him press her back into the softness of his bed. For a brief moment, he was gentle. She let him kiss her, using his fingers to tweak the tips of her ears, right where the diamond studs sat. It had been a long time since anyone had touched her ears. She felt her muscles relax in an instant, and the heat in her belly had doubled. As his hand slid down her face, Lilythae noticed something. His talons had shortened, and when he gripped her hips again she realized that his hands were smaller.

She returned the gesture, clawing at his skin and feeling him press just a little harder between her legs. It was then that she stilled. He licked the inside of her mouth and pulled away. He kissed the spot just between her breasts, lifting her legs to hitch across his hips as he sat on his knees.

He lined himself up and pressed forward. She felt herself jump in surprise. Panic too. He was too big. He was far too big. He barely had the head in and Lilythae had already voiced her concern in the form of a startled yelp. He hissed in frustration and returned his attentions to her throat.

"I told you Lilythae," he breathed, "I won't hurt you. _Trust me._ "

She panted in agitation and took his face in her hands. She was going to say something, she wasn't sure what. Just anything to stall the moment, so that she could figure out what to do. That was when she realized something.

His demonic features had lessened. His horns were still there, as were the tattoos and the hooves, but he had managed to exit his permanent metamorphosis. As she'd noticed his teeth had returned to their bluntness. He let his weight rest on her and she was fine, where before he would have most certainly crushed her. He laughed in her face.

"I told you." he murmured. "If I haven't hurt anyone else, why would I hurt you?"

She almost slapped him.

"Can you blame me?" she asked. "It's been a while."

He merely grunted, placing a kiss on her cheek before sliding his free hand up her chest, tweaking a point. She responded in kind, nipping at his ear.

He pushed forward again and this time she didn't protest. Even when he was the size of an elf, not a demon, it was still a lot. Had Orion felt like this?

No. That wasn't okay. She couldn't think about him, not right now. Right now, Illidan was her focus. Illidan Stormrage, the Betrayer, the Lord of Outland, the greatest sorcerer the Highborne had ever had the privilege to command. Her boss. Her friend? But here she was, allowing him to kiss her, bite her, rake his claws down her skin as he pleased. He was certainly more than all that now.

He rocked forward, eliciting a tiny cry from Lilythae's throat. It was a stretch. It hurt. It hurt a lot. She let her head loll to the side and she squeezed her eyes shut, her hand fisting as he held her wrist to the covers. She tried to breath, letting the cool air into her overwarm lungs. It was too much. It was far too much. The pain, the pleasure, the feeling that went all the way from her stomach into her fingertips.

He had stilled. When Lilythae had managed to catch her breath, to calm down, she realized he'd stopped moving and she looked up at his face. He stared back down at her evenly, gauging her response. Wondering if he should continue? She appreciated that.

She took a moment to calm herself and slowly leaned forward. She slipped her wrist from his hand and kissed him, pulling him back down onto the pillows with her. The invitation to continue.

Lilythae felt she was fortunate in the realm of intimacy. It didn't take much for her to reach that point, the peak of pleasure. All she needed was that rocking motion, for him to hit that one special spot, and she simply melted into him. She sighed happily, she cried out his name. She giggled when he made a bad joke in her ear. It helped her relax. As he continued his own quest for pleasure, persuading her body to yield and writhe for him, she realized he'd done something else.

She felt full, not just physically. He'd managed to incite happiness within her, and that was a difficult thing to do nowadays. As he pushed farther and farther into her body she clutched at his arms, his shoulders, whatever she could reach. She tried not to let her claws dig too far into his skin, but she wasn't sure how well she succeeded. She took notice of the fact that his shoulders, his chest, were completely bare.

Despite how amazing she felt, how wonderful his touches were, she couldn't help but spare a thought as to how lonely he must have been. Ten thousand years, and no one to share it with. Just as the thought crossed her mind he'd thrust in one final time.

It hadn't been the first orgasm she'd experienced that night, but it was certainly the most intense. She cried out, her body tightening around his. He moaned her name, laying lazy kisses along her flesh. Just as he relaxed, when Lilythae thought that was it, that it was over, Illidan sank his teeth into her skin.

/*\

He hadn't intended to do that, but he didn't find himself regretting the decision either.

Illidan was immensely pleased with the way the night had gone. She was everything he had envisioned and more, but her behavior had been strange. She wasn't one to show fear, not really. Lilythae had tried and failed to hide her apprehension from him.

He wasn't unaware of the size differences. Even if she was a little more petite than the tall, lithe women of his harem it wasn't by much. He knew how to assuage the fear, how to work them up to his correct proportions. It had been so difficult to keep his own power restrained.

If she'd been able to conjure up her metamorphosis, it wouldn't have been necessary for him to suppress his power. That would have been nice, but for the time being it hadn't been important. His primary objective was to ensure that she wouldn't run away again, and finally at long last, he'd succeeded.

He'd held himself atop her, keeping her pinned without it being too obvious. She'd talked big, but when it came to it her own confidence was shaky. She needed to know what she could expect from him first, and that was okay.

Now that she knew he was willing to be gentle, that his own carnal desires did not extend to pain, perhaps her confidence would grow. He enjoyed imagining what kinds of parts she liked to play in the bedroom.

He was entirely serious when he said he wasn't going to let her leave. Before he was too far gone he spared a thought towards the spellwork in his chambers. He'd have to adjust the wards. He wasn't interested in her leaving while he slept. If she really wanted to leave he'd let her, but he wasn't willing to let her go in such a cowardly way.

He savored every touch. Her fingers felt like brands on his skin, the nerves alighting as she brushed her fingers along his musculature. He took glee in toying with her hair, licking along the shell of her ear. He got as close to her as he could, so that he could catch every breath that left her mouth. He wanted all of her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so keen to devour someone, body and soul, yet here he was.

The act itself wasn't as brief as it could have been. He'd managed to find the spot early on, the place inside her that pushed her to her very limits. He'd hit it over and over again, affording her the pleasure she deserved. If he made it a good experience, she just might want more. There were plenty of things he wanted to try with her.

Right now was about assuaging her fear of him. He could try more adventurous things with her later. He just had to be patient. Patience would be rewarded. That was what Illidan told himself as he repeated his shallow thrusts.

As much as he wanted to flip her over and take her from behind or roll over on his back and let her sit atop him at various angles, he couldn't do that yet. Yet. He clung to the yet. He could indulge his greed later.

He panted in her ears, let his fingers tangle in her hair. It wasn't dissimilar to things he'd done before with his harem.

He shouldn't think about them. Comparisons were unfair. Lilythae was a different circumstance.

He leaned in closer, letting himself trap her beneath his weight. It was nice to listen to her voice. Instead of being overtly calm, unbothered by him, she made sounds without remorse or reservation. Her passion was tangible, thick enough that he wanted to lean down and breathe it in for himself.

He pushed his face back into her chest, panting and leaving messy kisses along her breasts. He grew distracted for a moment, but a moment was all it took.

He'd been trying to hold himself back. He'd been trying to let her finish first, multiple times if it were possible. It was the polite thing to do and would encourage her to remain with him. However, as he did so he took notice of the fact that she was no longer mated.

The mana in her speeding heart was gone, the blue flash of light completely vanished. A horrible thought took his mind. He stared at the mark just between her neck and shoulder. A meaningless scar now. He knew it had been there yesterday. He'd seen it. He told her how to preserve it.

Even though it was him thrusting as far as he could go into her warmth, her wetness. Even though it was his name she cried in hazy pleasure he could still feel the envy, the rage, well up in his stomach.

He wasn't going to be a rebound. Not for her, not for anyone else, not anymore. He was the Lord of Outland. He was a being so powerful, so corrupted, that he had literal armies of demons at his beck and call. He was leader of the Illidari. His campaign against the Legion would be what saved Azeroth from the evil Sargeras wrought. It would be the last stop for the demons, and it would be the end of _their_ crusade.

He was so much more than a substitute for a dead lover.

Of course, he couldn't think about it in such detail, not at the time. As she tightened around him, coherent thought was hopeless, but he had an idea of all these things. He knew he was not pleased with his foggy realization, and he knew exactly how to fix it.

He didn't pause to rationalize his decision. He didn't bother to think how this would affect her, how it would affect him. He didn't bother to think about what might happen if she did not return the gesture, if she rejected his claim.

All he knew was that the thought of her using him enraged him in a way he hadn't realized himself capable of. If she wanted him, she would have him, until the very day that one of them died.

Just as he crested that threshold of pleasure pain, he snarled her name. He had her and he found he still wanted. He wanted more, and unsure of how to get that more he took the only option his primal instincts lay before him.

He stared down at the mark on her shoulder, his target, and sank his teeth into it. He erased it from her body, replacing it with _himself._ Instead of a scar she bore a bleeding wound created by bigger and sharper teeth. As he offered up a portion of his power to her he lapped up the blood, the metallically salty taste stinging his tongue. It wasn't all he tasted, nor was it all he felt.

Her mana flickered with emotion before assaulting him. As her power flowed through him he felt her rage, her lust, her confusion, all mixed into one. He felt her desire to know what he'd done and why, and he felt something else too.

He looked down and found her pulling away, lazily licking blood off his chest. The mark lay just above his heart, and he found her power intoxicating. The energy was bright, naturally cheerful, though he sensed it was merely a shadow of what it once was. It was shiny and engulfing, but it was also calm and careful, the sea before a tsunami. There was a quietness that belied its intensity, and how badly he wanted to know that intensity in all its full glory.

He pushed her back down into the bed and kissed her. She did not return it. Instead she rolled over on her side, her hand clutching the bleeding wound. He felt a mixture of emotions emanating from her, confusion, sadness, wrath.

It wasn't to be unexpected. Resigning himself to a night of sleep instead of sex, he let himself collapse next to her, a clawed hand remaining on her hip. Perhaps tomorrow would go better.

/*\

Feyly could sense that something in the temple had changed. There was a shift in power, though she couldn't quite pinpoint the source or where it went. She sat up in her bed, looking around in the darkened nook. Nothing. Careful not to wake Rayne, she removed the covers and padded over to the silk curtains. She poked her head out and could see a pair of succubi patrolling the halls, a set of shivan not far behind them. They appeared unworried.

But then, how could she trust the judgement of demons?

A hand fell upon her shoulder and she jumped. It was all she could do not to screech. After all, she knew who it was, he'd just taken her by surprise.

"Rayne, what're you–?!" she whispered, but he cut her off.

"Don't worry about it." he murmured, taking her hand and pulling her back towards the bed.

"But what if it's something serious?" she asked. Rayne grinned.

"I can assure you, it's not." he said. Before she had any more chance to protest he lifted her up into his arms and placed her on the mattress. He gently kissed her, crawling atop her.

"Are you trying to distract me?" she grumbled, petulantly biting down on his lip. The demon hunter grinned, his pale hair falling in Feyly's face.

"Perhaps." he acknowledged. "But maybe, just maybe, I also want to seduce you."

"Are you really so insatiable?" she murmured. She heard him chuckle, and he took her hand. He placed it between his legs, letting her feel exactly how insatiable he was. Feyly laughed, pulling her hand away and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I spoil you too much." she breathed.

"I think you spoil me just enough." he answered back.

/*\

There was only one purpose in his life, and it was to obey _him._

He had been forced to choose a name, to leave his life behind and become something new in undeath. That, and his new boss was very particular. If someone's name didn't sound terrifying enough, then they were executed. He had moments where he wondered if peculiar insanities were just a part of undeath or if it was his master in particular, but those thoughts would quickly be drowned out by his master's voice.

The king was loud, even in his head. The voice was cold but strong. It made the mortals who heard it shiver, and if he had to listen too long even he found himself clenching his teeth. The king talked far too much, but he didn't care if his subjects thought that or things like that. He only cared that they fear. That they submit. That they obey.

He'd murdered plenty of people for the king to raise into his army. He didn't think about it very much, it wasn't that important. He didn't feel much of anything about it, not anymore. It hadn't taken him long to grow desensitized to the killing. In fact, in some ways looking at the corpses before him made him almost…hungry.

It was an odd feeling, and a panicked voice in the back of his mind told him it was unnatural. It told him that this and everything else was wrong, that his wife would–

Wife? Since when did he have a wife?

It hardly mattered. Every time the voice spoke, his master was quick to drown it out. The Scourge was all that existed, all that would keep him sated and safe. The undead were grisly looking creatures, but some of them held an innocence about them. The voice inside told him to keep that innocence safe, and the king agreed.

It was the only harmony to take place in his head.

But one night, one night everything changed. He'd only been himself a few days when it happened. He'd been in Acherus, practicing sleep. Though he didn't necessarily need it the king said it helped build concentration, helped to rest his body and keep it from decaying. Though the magic that bound his soul to the corpse would be enough to do so anyway, it still helped.

As he slept, he found that he'd lost something. He'd dreamed, of her, like he did every night. He didn't know what her name was, and he knew that in the waking world it wasn't important, but she was always there.

She was beautiful, and familiar. Sometimes she appeared to him as merely an elf. She was small, but she was loud. She ran up to him, her snowy hair flying behind her, and she'd stop. Always there was an invisible wall between them, and always she beat on it with her fists. He could faintly hear her screaming at him, many different words but the only ones he could ever make out were 'Wake up'.

But this night was different. She didn't look like herself. She was dressed in leather armor, instead of her simple silk clothes. She wielded wicked looking blades, hanging on her back. There was a blindfold across her eyes, and tattoos decorated her skin. Horns sprouted from her head. She didn't look anything like before but somehow, he still knew she was the same woman. She walked up to the wall, quiet. She'd placed her hand on it, her palm pressing against nothing, and when she spoke he could hear her with perfect clarity.

"Orion, please. Please wake up. I need you. We all need you."

When he woke, he found that something was absent, something within himself. It was something he hadn't even realized he had, but he didn't know what it was. It felt important, and for a split second he felt himself panicking.

What had he lost? Why was he so worried about it?

Arthas whispered in his mind, telling him that it was time. Immediately Orion's mind blanked, listening only to what the king had to say. He lifted his sword and marched outside, ready for the battle ahead.

He'd forgotten about the woman, that missing whatever it was, in no time.

/*\

The dwarf was relieved to finally make it home. His wife, too, was quite happy to see him alive. When he walked in the door his daughter leapt towards him, demanding a story of the Black Temple and all the things that had come to pass. The dwarf paused and looked to his wife. He was lucky he'd married such an intuitive woman. She immediately understood and sent their daughter away, out to the shop to get more ale and ribs.

She promised that the girl could keep any small animals she found, and that got his teenaged daughter out of the house faster than anything else.

"Dagen," his wife said, "What happened out there?"

He paused, considering for a moment. He wasn't sure he could talk about it, not yet. Not when it was still so fresh in his mind. It was so horrible and good all at once. Even after several days it still felt an incohesive thought and situation. He didn't feel calm yet, but he knew exactly how to attain that calm.

"Before we get into that Ava," he said, "Where's my little Faya?"

Ava wore a concerned expression on her face, her golden freckles glowing in the light. Slowly she turned, the long twin braids swaying down to her knees, and she retreated deeper into the house. When she returned with the baby her seriousness had vanished and she was all smiles.

"Faya, your papa is home! Let's go say hi." she cooed. The baby giggled, delighted, and though she wasn't his Dagen adored her all the same.

He wasn't sure where his precious Faya had come from. All he knew was that a gnomish friend of theirs had shown up with an orphaned elven infant. The gnome had no way of caring for the child on her own, and Dagen had practically begged his wife to let him keep her. It hadn't taken long for the giggly infant to win her over.

She was an odd-looking elf, to be sure. According to the gnome, she was half blood elf and half night elf. She was purple. Ava hated when he said that, insisting she was _lavender_ as if it was a completely different color. She had glowing silver eyes and her hair was white, but the thing that gave her away as being half and half was the shape of her ears.

Instead of slanting back, they pointed upwards. They were cute ears. Ava said the jeweler would have a great time helping her pick earrings when the baby grew old enough. All they had regarding the child's history was a brief note explaining who her parents were.

He'd never looked at it. As far as Dagen was concerned, he and Ava were her parents now. Her birth family was dead, and so that note hardly mattered.

He held her in his arms, letting her play with the braid in his beard as his wife looked on. Faya cooed happily, babbling nonsense as Dagen rocked her in his arms. He had days when he wondered what could have happened to her parents. Then there were days when he tried to put that thought completely out of his mind. Faya was one of the greatest joys to ever be gifted to his tiny family.

/*\

Lilythae felt so many things. At first, she felt surprise. Had he done what she'd thought he'd done? It didn't quite hit her until she felt his power working its way into her bloodstream, into her body, into _her._ Illidan had bitten her, bound her, and in that moment all she could feel was rage.

Usually she liked to bask in the glow afterwards, letting her limbs recover and her body relax into the warmth. It was a feeling rivaling that of orgasm itself, but she couldn't enjoy anything now. Not only had he marked her, but he'd done it on top of Orion's mark. She didn't know much about remarriage in Kal'dorei culture, but she knew that this was not okay. She also knew that there was only one way to force Illidan to understand that.

She launched herself up and sank her teeth into his chest, just above his heart. As she once did for Orion. Sin'dorei marks were similar in meaning, in magic. The only true difference was the placement. A mark on the chest meant wearing a symbol of affection close to one's heart forever.

Here, it was a symbol of her rage. Though she was reluctant to offer him her own power, she knew that this was the only thing she could do. Unrequited mating marks could wreak terrible consequences, for both the giver and gifted. It was an imbalance that could certainly lead to death, and with Mardum so close she knew that she couldn't afford to let this go unanswered, undealt with.

As much as she didn't like it, as much as she wanted to hesitate, she knew she would have to do it. They would both need to remain stable.

After all, taking his power was all well and fine. It would give her something of an edge on the demon planet, would up her chances of survival. All the same, she knew he would stay here. With all the attacks on the temple, well, it would be pointless if he died.

As Lilythae absently lapped up the blood she thought about all this. She never expected to remarry so soon, especially on a whim. She was caught between the primal joy in her hindbrain and the complete and utter wrath she wanted to take out on him. Caught between the two she did nothing, merely letting herself sink back into the pillows, her heat fading quickly.

Illidan's impulsiveness had ruined more than the mood.

He didn't seem to understand her anger, mistaking it for submission. As he tried to embrace her, push her back even further into his bed she pushed away. She did her best to look angry and rolled over on her side, curling into a ball and gingerly touching the wound on her neck. How could he do this? _Why_ would he do this? It made no sense. Not to her.

Illidan's interest had been purely primal hadn't it? There had been no love, no affection here. Not strong enough to warrant this at least. All she could think to herself as her lover settled in beside her, placing his hand on her hip, was how horrified she was. She had no idea how to fix this. For the time being she would have to remain mated to him. There was a way to nullify mating marks in Quel'thalas, if something was found illegitimate, such as a cheating spouse or an illicit child. There were ways to break the bond.

Once the invasion on Mardum had commenced and the keystone was retrieved, then she could worry about it. She could get it fixed. It might not have been anything. She'd heard tell of people inflicting the bite on sheer instinct.

But given how much he slept around, he most likely knew how to suppress that instinct.

Worrying over it wouldn't fix it. For now, she would sleep, would let him snuggle. She didn't know why he'd done it. She'd only gotten the vaguest sense of his emotions amidst that unexpected rush of power. She could talk to him about it tomorrow, when she was awake, and rational, and not trying to seduce him.

 **/*\**

 **Uh oh.**

 **-Statyck**


End file.
